DEAR SUN SPOTS: Does the state of Maine gain any money when cans and bottles are discarded? If so, in what manner? Bottlers seem to gain when this happens.

Several years ago I approached our representatives to find out why there is no deposit on small, airplane-size liquor bottles. It seems as though it would be a profitable way for the state to receive additional money. We find these small bottles all over the side of the road.

Cigarette packs are stamped on the bottom with a tobacco tax stamp. Are they stamped at the factory or are they affixed in Maine? — No Name, No Town

ANSWER: Sun Spots addressed part of your question — whether the state profits from unredeemed cans — on Aug. 23, 2012, when a letter writer asked if stores profit off unreturned bottles. They do not. You are correct about the bottlers.

If you fail to return cans, it puts money in the pocket of the company that makes your beverage of choice (not the store, which has already paid the nickel or 15 cents to Coke, Pepsi, etc.).

As for the state profiting, in about 20 percent of those instances where cans are not returned, the state of Maine gets half of that money under “unclaimed property” rules.

For the answer about the size-of-the-bottle question, Sun Spots spoke to Randy Trahan from the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the bottle deposit program.

Randy said that the law calls for all containers of glass, metal or plastic of 4 liters or less to be redeemed. There are exemptions, such as milk. Also exempted are wine or spirit bottles of 50 milliliters or less.

Sun Spots asked Randy if he knew why those small bottles were exempted. He said he couldn’t be sure, but he speculated that the reason is that when the bill was enacted in 1976 the only place those small bottles were widely used was on airplanes, so redemption was deemed unnecessary, since airlines were unlikely to toss the bottles on the roadsides.

As for the cigarette tax, the federal tax is the same on each pack (websites say $1.01) no matter which state it is sold in, but the state taxes on cigarettes vary widely, from 45 cents in North Carolina to $5.585 in New York City. According to an August listing at www.tobaccofreekids.org and other postings, the Maine tax on a pack of cigarettes is $2.

Because of this variance in taxes, each state has a different stamp to identify where they were supposed to be sold.

How effective this is in fighting fraud Sun Spots does not know, but a story in Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2013/08/20/up-in-flames-cigarette-taxes-create-opportunity-for-revenue-and-crime/) indicated not too well.

As far as Sun Spots can tell from online sources, tax stamps are applied by the distributors once the destination for those particular cigarettes has been decided. A company that distributes cigarettes in Maine would be licensed to do so and required to apply the tax stamps before shipping the cigarettes out to retailers.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I read in your column, which I read daily, about the person looking for fruitcakes. The Shaker Village in New Gloucester makes traditional fruitcakes every year for their Christmas Fair.

The fair is always held the first Saturday of December, so this year it is Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fruitcakes can sell out very quickly, so that person might want to get there early.

The Shaker Christmas Fair also sells Shaker-made jams and jellies, baked goods, herbs and teas, cheese and pickles, woodenware, antiques, books, baskets, handmade traditional crafts and knit goods, wreaths and trees.

Thank you for all the help you give to the people of the area. — Wendy Thoren usshakers@aol.com

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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