Tobacco - Tax

The Tobacco Tax Enforcement Program

The Program

The Mission

The mission of the Tobacco Tax Enforcement Unit is to ensure that people who sell tobacco in Washington state are:

Properly licensed,
Have paid the appropriate state taxes,
Keep tobacco out of the hands of those under 18 years old. Information on keeping tobacco away from youth can be found on the Laws and Rules page.

History

The Washington State Liquor Control Board's Tobacco Tax Enforcement Unit was formed in June of 1997 to focus enforcement efforts on assessing unpaid taxes for state collection by the Department of Revenue (DOR).

In 2006, the Tobacco Tax Unit sent assessment reports to the DOR for over $18 million. A portion of these assessments are on the sales of untaxed cigarettes, and a portion of the assessments deal with the failure to pay taxes on other tobacco products, such as cigars and chewing tobacco.

Today

The Tobacco Tax Unit is managed by one captain and three lieutenants, supervising fourteen Tobacco Tax enforcement officers. One lieutenant and one enforcement officer are assigned to work directly with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), to coordinate joint operations involving state and federal violations. The Tobacco Tax Unit also works closely with other agencies, to ensure compliance with state and federal tobacco tax laws.