Vape Store Slips Pennsylvania’s Tobacco Tax on Custom Blends

A Harrisburg, Pa., vape store isn’t responsible for paying tobacco tax on its custom electronic cigarette blends because the 40% tax only applies when a tobacco product is sold to a retailer, a state appeals court ruled Friday.

The state’s argument that the customers who purchase the blends for their personal use are retailers is a “strained and impracticable position,” Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Michael H. Wojcik wrote for the unanimous panel.

The court acknowledged that the state’s goal of taxing all tobacco products to protect public health is admirable, but that doesn’t mean it can enforce the law “as ...