A Kentucky-based tobacco company is asking a judge to stop the potential seizure of its equipment to settle a $3 million tax bill.
U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley Jr. has scheduled a hearing for March 25 in Bowling Green on a request by Tantus Tobacco of Russell Springs, Ky., for a temporary injunction against the U.S. Treasury Department. The dispute centers on whether Tantus properly set sale prices for its products from September 2009 through November 2011 and paid the proper amount of excise taxes on the sales. The Treasury Department has threatened to file liens against equipment used by Tantus to settle the debt. Tantus makes Berley Red, Sport, Main Street and GSmoke brand cigarettes.