How does the US federal government collect the $0.39 excise tax per pack of cigarettes?

Question

Does the government tax the manufacturers, the retailers, or the customers? Please cite a source!

Answer 1

For packs with tax stamp - the manufacturer buys the stamp from the government. That's how the government gets the money.

For no tax stamp - the number of packs produced is monitored and the manufacturer pays the governement accordingly.

In either case, the manufacturer includes the tax amount in their "price to dealers or retailers" and the retailer charges it from the consumer.

Answer 2

The government taxes the manufaturers, and the cost is passed along to the consumer. This was something I learned back in high school, a number of years ago.

Answer 3

the excise tax is included in the price of each pack or carton of cigarettes.

check with your state tax department.