Floyd Palmer measures out tobacco from a holding bin onto the scale at Firebrand Smokes in Hixson on Thursda. Firebrand Smokes is a roll-your-own tobacco establishment that will be forced to close down when President Barack Obama signs the just-passed Transportation Bill.President Barack Obama will sign a $105 billion spending plan today to help preserve road-building jobs and low-interest student loans.
But tucked within the omnibus transportation package is a tax provision that could force most roll-your-own cigarette stores to go up in smoke, including nine such stores in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia.
“This will totally shut us down and end up hurting the economy by cutting jobs and taxes,” said Angie Cunnyngham. She’s general manager for Firebrand Smokes, which operates eight stores in the Chattanooga area where smokers avoid higher cigarette taxes by rolling their own tobacco.
“This place is like family to thousands of people in this area, and putting us out of business makes no sense at all,” she said.
The new law will redefine stores such as Firebrand Smokes as cigarette manufacturers, making them pay the same taxes as cigarettes sold in convenience or grocery stores.