(a)(1) There is hereby imposed upon every person, firm, or corporation who sells, stores, delivers, uses, or otherwise consumes tobacco in Escambia County a county privilege, license, or excise tax up to three cents ($0.03) for each package of cigarettes, made of tobacco or any substitute therefor.
(2)The privilege, license, or excise tax shall be in addition to all other taxes heretofore imposed by law.
(3)Provided, however, when the license tax hereby required to be paid shall have been paid by a wholesaler or seller of cigarettes, such payment shall be sufficient, the intent being that such license tax hereby required to be paid shall be paid but once on each package of cigarettes.
(b)Upon passage of this section there is levied on every person, firm, corporation, club, or associatio
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(a)(1) There is hereby imposed upon every person, firm, or corporation who sells, stores, delivers, uses, or otherwise consumes tobacco in Escambia County a county privilege, license, or excise tax up to three cents ($0.03) for each package of cigarettes, made of tobacco or any substitute therefor.
(2) The privilege, license, or excise tax shall be in addition to all other taxes heretofore imposed by law.
(3) Provided, however, when the license tax hereby required to be paid shall have been paid by a wholesaler or seller of cigarettes, such payment shall be sufficient, the intent being that such license tax hereby required to be paid shall be paid but once on each package of cigarettes.
(b) Upon passage of this section there is levied on every person, firm, corporation, club, or association that sells or stores or receives for the purpose of distribution in Escambia County any cigarettes the amount of the additional license or privilege tax levied and assessed herein to the price of the cigarettes, it being the purpose and intent of this provision that the tax levied is, in fact, a levy on the consumer with the person, firm, corporation, club, or association, who sells or stores or receives for the purpose of distributing the cigarettes, acting merely as agent for the collection of the tax. The dealer, storer, or distributor shall state the amount of the tax separately from the price of the cigarettes, on all price display signs, sales or delivery slips, bills, and statements which advertise or indicate the price of the cigarettes. It shall be unlawful for any dealer, storer, or distributor engaged in or continuing in Escambia County in the business for which the tax is hereby levied to fail or refuse to add to the sales price and collect from the purchaser the amount due on account of the tax herein provided or to refund or offer to refund all or any part of the amount collected or to absorb or advertise directly or indirectly the absorption of the tax or any portion thereof. Any person, firm, corporation, club, or association violating any of the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100) or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than 60 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each act in violation of this subsection shall constitute a separate offense.
(c) The tax hereby levied shall be paid on a monthly basis by affixing stamps as is required for the payment of the tax imposed by Section 40-25-1 through Section 40-25-28. The State Department of Revenue, if requested by resolution of the Escambia County Commission to collect the county privilege license or tax specified in subsection (a), for as long as the department is requested to collect the levy, shall have the same duties relative to the preparation and sale of stamps to evidence the payment of such tax that it has relative to the preparation and sale of stamps under those sections and may exercise the same powers and perform the same duties in the same manner relative to the collection of the tax hereby levied that it does relative to the collection of that tax. However, in the event the required stamps are not available for affixing to tobacco products packages and containers or, by the authority of a duly promulgated regulation eliminating the requirement of affixing stamps and replacing such requirement, a monthly reporting system approved by the Department of Revenue shall be accepted as evidence of payment of such taxes.
(d) It shall be the duty of the County Commission of Escambia County to enforce this section upon its imposing the tax thereunder, and it shall have the right itself, or its members or its agents, to examine the books, reports, and accounts of every dealer, storer, or distributor engaged in the business for which the tax is hereby levied and to make any and all rules and regulations necessary and proper for the collection of such tax. Provided, however, upon resolution of the Escambia County Commission, the State Department of Revenue is hereby authorized and directed to collect all taxes now or hereafter levied by the county under this section. The State Department of Revenue is hereby authorized to promulgate and enforce rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this section. All such rules and regulations duly promulgated shall have the force and effect of law.
(e) All laws, and rules and regulations of the Department of Revenue, relating to the manner and time of payment of the tax levied by Section 40-25-1 through Section 40-25-28, requiring reports from dealers and prescribing penalties for violations shall apply with equal force to the tax levied by this section as fully as if set out herein.
(f) The proceeds from the tax hereby levied, less the actual costs of collection not to exceed 10 per centum, shall be paid by the State Department of Revenue into the County General Fund of Escambia County to be expended as follows:
(1) One-half cent to the county general fund.
(2) Two and one-half cent to all fire departments, volunteer and municipal and the Escambia County Rescue Squad and the Flomaton Fire Department and Rescue Squad on an equal basis. Each municipal fire department shall establish a separate fund apart from the municipal treasury into which the proceeds allocated to the department shall be deposited. The monies in these separate funds shall not be administered by the municipalities, shall be kept completely separate from the monies in the municipal operating budget, and shall be subject to audit by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts. Monies in each of those funds shall be expended in the sole discretion of the respective municipal fire chief in any manner he or she deems necessary for the operation of and equipment for that fire department and for other fire department related purposes, except none shall be expended for salaries. A municipality shall not reduce its level of support for the fire department of the municipality because of funds available pursuant to this section. Volunteer fire departments shall expend their shares only as prescribed in their respective bylaws or articles of incorporation, except no proceeds distributed under this section shall be expended for salaries. Each fire department shall participate so long as such fire department is certified by the district forester of the Alabama Forestry Commission in Escambia County. Any fire department failing to meet certification standards shall be suspended from participation in the revenue until those standards are met and the fire department’s revenue shall be equally distributed among the fire departments meeting the certification standards.
(g)(1) None of the provisions of this section shall be applied in such manner as to be in violation of the commerce or other clauses of the federal or state constitution.
(2) This section shall not be construed to apply to cigarettes stored by a wholesale dealer for the purpose of resale or reshipment outside of such counties which are actually resold or reshipped.