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On Monday, June 14th, the Lakewood City Council held a First Reading on an ordinance to send a tobacco tax increase to the ballot in November as part of their consent agenda. The ordinance would authorize the city to submit the ballot question regarding imposition of an additional sales tax of 20% on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. It would also authorize the City Council to increase those rates up to 50% without further voter approval
A public hearing is scheduled to take place during the second reading on June 28th. The ballot question, if approved, would appear on the ballot for the election on November 2, 2021.
Lakewood City Council Meeting Details:
Date: Public Hearing on Monday, June 28th
Location: Virtual- Participation details in the attached agenda and below*
Talking Points to Oppose Local Taxes:
- The COVID pandemic has caused financial hardships for retailers who have worked very hard to remain open to serve their customers.
· Lakewood will be receiving $22.6 million dollars in Federal government stimulus funds under President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan stimulus law. The stimulus funds eliminate the need to increase tobacco taxes on businesses and residents.
· Local cigarette and tobacco taxes often cause adult consumers to either travel to nearby communities or purchase products online just to avoid the local tax.
· Tobacco is often purchased in conjunction with gasoline, food, beverages, and other items by adult consumers. Driving all of these purchases outside local jurisdictions because of high cigarette or tobacco taxes not only causes harm to local, taxpaying businesses, but local tax revenues suffer as well.
· Local cigarette and tobacco taxes encourage development and growth of illicit markets where underage compliance goes unchecked and governments derive no revenue.
· With tobacco stores dependent on the sales of their products for virtually all of their profits and with convenience stores relying on tobacco sales for nearly 40 percent of in-store sales, a downturn in tobacco sales would result in employee layoffs and store closures.
Take Action today:
- Contact your local councilmember before the hearing:
- Call and email your elected officials (contact information below)
- Go to the NLAA Take Action Website:
 COLORADO
- Attend the virtual hearing and speak out*
- Notify other retailers and association members and encourage them to take action
* How to Virtually Participate Meeting
To watch the Council meeting live, please use either one of the following links:
City of Lakewood Website:
https://www.Lakewood.org/CouncilVideos or
Lakewood Speaks: https://lakewoodspeaks.org/
Phone Number for Public Comment: 1-669-900-9128
Webinar ID: 982 4181 2713
(press # after entering the webinar id then press # once more to join the meeting) Press *9 to Request to Speak, you will be prompted when to speak. Press *6 to Unmute. After speaking, you can hang up or hold to speak on a different agenda item
Contact the Lakewood City Council Members:
Copies of the meeting agenda, staff report, and draft ordinance are attached.
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