NYC: Smokers Who Buy Online Need To Pay Up

CBS 2 online and television ^ | 1/13/05 | CBS 2 Marsha Kramer Reports

[SheLion]

Basically it's designed to help states collect cigarette taxes.

Utter BS to single out a legal product like this.

[SheLion]

I roll my own and never ordered a carton from the Internet. But I sure feel sorry for everyone that does. Not that anything will come of this, but with the filthy lawmakers we have in office, I wouldn't put anything past them.

[angkor]

Utter BS to single out a legal product like this.

True enough.

Here's the last refuge for the moment:

http://www.ryomagazine.com

[Allosaurs_r_us]

But I wouldn't pay those taxes. Let them go after the seller.

An online dealer is only required to collect taxes for residents of their state. You can't expect a seller to know the tax laws of every other state.

It is in fact the buyers responsibility to make things right with their own local and state governments. When you buy a car out of state you do not get charged tax. You pay the tax upon licensing it in your own state. You can't get out of paying the tax because you bought it across the state line. This is a normal practice. No one complains about this because of dollar value I guess and it is to easy for the state to follow.

I have heard of only one argument that I believe could apply in this situation and could get everybody off the hook. Everyone needs to look into the federal laws governing interstate commerce. I believe it is the reason internet businesses don't have to charge state taxes.

In Washington state the cigarette cops were stopping people to inspect whether or not they had bought cigs in Idaho (quite a bit cheaper due to WA rediculous tax). If they were found I believe they were confiscating them. Didn't ever hear how this turned out but I believe they used the interstate commerce act to shut down the illegal confiscation. Don't know if they ended up paying the difference in tax. Don't know why they should since they were paying Idaho tax.

[John Lenin]

Wait until they start taxing food, revenue officers will be in your kitchen to taxz your pasta machine.

[SheLion]

Thanks for the link. I bookmarked it.

[SheLion]

I still can't understand how Napster got off. What the heck is the difference.

[Allosaurs_r_us]

Utter BS to single out a legal product like this.

I believe this applies to anything the feds tax. I know it does for liquor, gasoline, automobiles, etc. It appears it applies to anything that has federal and state or local taxes. The feds call them luxury taxes I believe.

[WHBates]

LOL, could (would) that include interstate sales vice intrastate sales????

[zzen01]

In Oklahoma they DO tax food.

[Imaverygooddriver]

Hey and what gets me is just about every year another scandal comes out about the city council, like spending taxpayer cash to go on vacations, or taxpayer cash to redecorate their offices, or taxpayer cash to buy cars and bus trips, and how do New Yorkers react? Why they vote democrat over and over and over and over. It`s like Washington and Massachussets "Oh so what if Marion Barry smoked crack with a hooker, we want him as Mayor again!" or "So what if Ted Kennedy drinks his azz off and drives off bridges, let`s elect him again and again and again" It is truly the party of the idiots, it really is. Idiots electing idiots, and then when it get`s so incredibly bad that they can stand it anymore, like when David Dinkins practically let the city burn to the ground, they elect a Republican like Giuliani, and what do they do when they find out Giuliani actually does his job? Why they protest him over and over and over over and call him Hitler. "What do you mean you are getting tough on crime?? Waaah! You are Hitler! Waah!"

[John Lenin]

I'm talking about the new taxes they want to put on any food attributed to obesity. It's just the around the corner from the way the talks are going.

[RandallFlagg]

HAAA!! I just discovered that site last week!

[BlazingArizona]

There should be a balance in tax policy, and a commitment to stop this liberal social engineering garbage that Republicans are falling victim to repeatedly, more and more.

Time to bring back the Libertarians!

[BlazingArizona]

Yes I plan to hang around FR and I'm not just passing through. I was interested in other's opinions and having conversation, not to just vent. My main point was that Andy has the letter and I saw some questions on other threads about this whole topic so he said he'd type on here answering anything. I am going to ask him to scan the letter we received and only block out our address and put it on his website so everyone can read what this thing really says

The best way to start off that new marriage would be for you both to leave that dump and move to "Red country".

[edchambers]

This is the height of arrogance why in the hell should smokers pony up even more money to a government that persecutes them more than Islamic fundamentalists or anti American Traitors undermining our nation at war?Not that I'm saying smokers are all wonderful people but their not partaking in an illegal activity that should be "fined" either.$7.50 a pack? I thought CA. was bad, as some comedian has already pointed out your only a couple bucks away from crack cocain prices there.

[mvpel]

I may be mistaken but I thought buying anything through the internet, mail order, ebay, etc.. from out of state meant you didn't have to pay sales tax.

Actually, that's not correct - the seller does not have to collect the sales tax, but you are still liable for the use tax imposed by your state on the sale. Hardly anyone does it, unless they're forced to for things like cars that you have to register in your home state.

[Happygal]

Seems to me it's up to the State to prove delivery.

If the merchandise went up in smoke?

[RandallFlagg]

Bump-a-puff!

[RandallFlagg]

I actually called the candidates themselves to ask them questions on their stances on issues like firearms, taxes, etc. Loopie was the only one I couldn't reach. I voted for the guy who answered correctly (who lost); he passed my test.