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A1554
ASSEMBLY, No. 1554
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CLINTON CALABRESE
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
���� Increases presumed mark-up rate for retailer selling
cigarettes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning the sale of cigarettes and amending P.L.1952,
c.247.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 4 of P.L.1952,
c.247 (C.56:7-21) is amended to read as follows:
���� a.� The term "cost to the
retailer" shall mean the "basic cost of cigarettes" to the
retailer plus the "cost of doing business by the retailer," as
evidenced by the standards and methods of accounting regularly employed by him
in his allocation of overhead costs and expenses, paid or incurred, and
[
must
]
shall
include, without limitation, labor (including salaries of executives and
officers), rent, depreciation, selling costs, maintenance of equipment,
delivery costs, all types of licenses, taxes, insurance and advertising;
provided, that any retailer who, in connection with the retailer's purchase,
receives not only the discounts ordinarily allowed upon purchases by a retailer
but also, in whole or in part, discounts ordinarily allowed upon purchases by a
wholesaler shall, in determining "cost to the retailer," pursuant to
this subsection, add the "cost of doing business by the wholesaler,"
as defined in section five of
[
this
act
]
P.L.1952,
c.247 (C.56:7-22)
, to the "basic cost of cigarettes" to said
retailer, as well as the "cost of doing business by the retailer."
���� b.� In the absence of the
filing with the director of satisfactory proof of a lesser or higher cost of
doing business by the retailer making the sale, the "cost of doing
business by the retailer" shall be presumed to be
[
eight per
centum (8%)
]
16 percent
of the "basic cost of cigarettes" to the retailer.
���� c.� In the absence of the
filing with the director of satisfactory proof of� a lesser or higher cost of
doing business, the "cost of doing business by the retailer," who, in
connection with the retailer's purchase, receives not only the discounts
ordinarily allowed upon purchases by a retailer but also, in whole or in part,
the discounts ordinarily allowed upon purchases by a wholesaler, shall be
presumed to be
[
eight
per centum (8%)
]
16 percent
of the sum of the "basic cost of cigarettes" and
the "cost of doing business by the wholesaler."
(cf: P.L.1952, c.247, s.4)
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the third month following enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill amends the
"Unfair Cigarette Sales Act of 1952" by increasing the presumptive
"cost of doing business by the retailer" from eight percent to 16
percent of the "basic cost of cigarettes" to the retailer.� The bill
raises the presumed mark-up margin required by retailers in connection with
cigarette sales.
���� The purpose of this bill is to
modernize the calculation of retailers� presumed operating costs, which have
risen due to inflation and increased labor and overhead expenses. �It is the
view of the sponsors that the updated percentage provides a more accurate basis
for establishing minimum cigarette retail prices.