The North Carolina House passed a tax bill that includes provisions for electronic cigarettes.
The bill, which passed by an 84-29 vote with little discussion on Wednesday, taxes the nicotine liquid in e-cigarettes at 5 cents per milliliter, much lower than the 45-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes.
When Greensboro-based Lorillard -- the nation's third-largest cigarette maker -- acquired the much smaller Blu E-Cigs in 2012, it became the first of the big tobacco companies to enter the E-cigarette market. Not long ago, the company also acquired the UK-based SkyCig. Lorillard now commands a 49% share of the e-cigarette market.
The bill also caps the rate at which municipalities can tax businesses at $100 per year. But it allows more kinds of businesses to be taxed. The authority of counties to collect similar privilege taxes would be repealed. The bill also changes a 2013 law creating a combined 6.75 percent tax on admission to live events, and allows state fairs and state attractions to be taxed too.
It now goes to the Senate.
WFDD's Steve Biddle contributed to this article.
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