(a) A tax at the rate of $.059 (fifty-nine mills) per cigarette is hereby imposed upon all cigarettes possessed for sale and upon the use of all cigarettes within the City of Chicago, the ultimate incidence of and liability for payment of said tax to be borne by the consumer of said cigarettes. The tax herein levied shall be in addition to any and all other taxes.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by Sections 3-42-050 and 3-42-090 of this chapter, the tax shall be paid by the purchase of tax stamps from the department. It shall be the duty of every wholesale tobacco dealer, before delivering or causing to be delivered any cigarettes to a retail tobacco dealer in the City of Chicago, to purchase from the department a tax stamp for each package of cigarettes and to affix and cancel the tax stamps prior to the delivery of the cigarettes to the retail tobacco dealer. The tax stamps shall be affixed and canceled in the manner prescribed by this chapter or by rules and regulations promulgated by the comptroller. Any wholesale tobacco dealer lawfully in possession of unused or defective tax stamps may return the stamps to the department for reimbursement or credit.
(c) Any wholesale tobacco dealer who shall pay the tax imposed by this chapter shall collect the tax from the retail tobacco dealer to whom the sale of the cigarettes is made; and the retail tobacco dealer shall in turn collect the tax from the purchaser of the cigarettes. The tax shall be paid to the person required to collect it as trustee for and on account of the City of Chicago.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any business licensed under Title 4 to purchase or receive cigarettes from any person unless the package containing the cigarettes bears an unmutilated tax stamp affixed and canceled as required by this chapter or by the rules and regulations promulgated by the comptroller. Possession by a business licensed under Title 4 of cigarettes having no tax stamp affixed and canceled shall give rise to the prima facie presumption that the cigarettes are possessed in violation of the provisions of this chapter.
(e) It shall be unlawful for any retail tobacco dealer or wholesale tobacco dealer to engage in an act of concealment. Any retail tobacco dealer or wholesale tobacco dealer that violates this subsection shall be subject to a fine of $2,000.00 to $10,000.00. Each day that the violation occurs shall be considered as a separate and distinct offense. For purposes of this section, "concealment" means cigarettes, other tobacco products, or cigarette tax stamps, in violation of this subsection, deliberately hidden to prevent or evade discovery and offered for sale by or in the possession of a wholesale or retail tobacco dealer.
(Added Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 5-4-94, p. 49311; Amend Coun. J. 12-15-04, p. 39840, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 12-14-05, p. 66648, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. I, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 10; Amend Coun. J. 11-26-13, p. 67528, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 12-14-16, p. 39210, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 11-14-18, p. 90308, Art. V, § 4)