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Citing Terrorist Financing, Lawmakers Approve Bill to Regulate Sale of Cigarettes

By Colby Adams

The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday unanimously passed a bill designed to collect billions of dollars in lost state tax revenue and block terror financiers from profiting from black market cigarettes. The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, sponsored by Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-WI), would require tobacco sellers to pay state and local excise taxes on interstate sales, and keep records of shipments. The additional fees would largely curtail the selling of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products via the mail, according to its proponents. The measure would also likely dissuade terrorist financiers and organized crime groups from taking advantage of differences...

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