(1) A surcharge is levied upon all tobacco products in this state and upon any person engaged in business as a distributor of tobacco products at the rate of 60 percent of the wholesale sales price. The surcharge shall be levied at the time the distributor:

(a) Brings or causes to be brought into this state from without the state tobacco products for sale;

(b) Makes, manufactures, or fabricates tobacco products in this state for sale in this state; or

(c) Ships or transports tobacco products to retailers in this state, to be sold by those retailers. A surcharge may not be levied on tobacco products shipped or transported outside this state for sale or use outside this state.

(2) A surcharge is imposed upon the use or storage by consumers of tobacco products in this state and upon such consumers at the rate of 60 percent of the wholesale sales price. The surcharge imposed by this subsection does not apply if the surcharge imposed by subsection (1) on such tobacco products has been paid. This surcharge does not apply to the use or storage of tobacco products in quantities of less than 1 pound in the possession of any one consumer.

(3) Any tobacco product with respect to which a surcharge has once been imposed under this section is not again subject to surcharge under this section.

(4) No surcharge shall be imposed by this section upon tobacco products not within the taxing power of the state under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.

(5) The exemptions provided for cigarettes under s. 210.04(4) also apply to tobacco products subject to a surcharge under this section.

(6) The surcharge levied under this section shall be administered, collected, and enforced in the same manner as the tax imposed under s. 210.30.

(7) Revenue produced from the surcharge levied under this section shall be deposited into the Health Care Trust Fund within the Agency for Health Care Administration.

History.—s. 7, ch. 2009-79.