Posted on 10/04/2009 5:34:50 PM PDT by smokingfrog
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday began collecting millions in fees from the nation's tobacco companies to help fund the agency's newly granted authority to regulate the industry.
The user fees, which will be collected quarterly, are based on each company's share of the U.S. tobacco market. The FDA will collect about $23 million for fiscal 2009. That will rise to $235 million in 2010 and grow to $712 million by 2019.
The FDA would not disclose the assessments for specific companies.
Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. analyst Christopher Growe said in a note to investors that Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc., owner of market-leading Philip Morris USA, would be responsible for about 50 percent of the fees.
FDA spokeswoman Kathleen Quinn said the fees will be used to fund the Center for Tobacco Products, the agency's group tasked with regulating tobacco. The fees will pay for staffing, offices, systems that will be used to register products and outside contractors.
In June, President Barack Obama signed the law that allows the FDA regulate the industry. Its authority includes the ability to ban certain products, reduce nicotine in tobacco products and block labels such "low tar" and "light." Tobacco companies also will be required to cover their cartons with large, graphic warnings.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
Americans need to regain control of our government and start putting these bass turds in jail. The EPA would be a great place to start.
Agreed!
Translation: Fund the bloated bureaucratic deficit............
That’s the kind of tax politicians love dearly.
It never shows up as an identifiable tax to the consumer and the pols can demagogue the poor company paying the tax for raising prices to cover it.
That’s why Cap N Tax is so appealing to them.
The power to tax is the power to destroy. Now it is the hateful tobacco companies. But next it could be Coca Cola Co., or Nabisco. It could be the meat industry. It could be Frito Lay. This needs to be reined in.
Agree. The feds increasingly view private enterprise as something to plunder. We have fallen so far.
has to be 2 fronts.. EPA and FDA both gotta go!
WHAT Constitutional Article gives a beaureaucratic agency the AUTHORITY to assess and collect TAXES??
NEVER MIND, COMRADES ... we do not NEED to know1
You’re right. I meant to put both. I messed up.
And that was in 2002. Things are even worse now.
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