Posted on 02/04/2006 3:38:24 AM PST by SheLion
It probably won`t be that hard as the gov will lean heavily on the major players,Ebay,Amazon,etc.
They will be under threat of having to fork the money over themselves or start collecting the various state taxes at the point of purchase.
Once that becomes the norm,every retailer will be required to do the same.
Some in Illinois are ignoring the notice all together and then they stop.
I tell everyone that if they DO pay any money, to make sure they keep all their receipts and correspondence.
Don't throw anything away!
Without a doubt. They shot the goose that laid the golden egg!
I quit 12 years ago but thought I'd tell you that cigs in Japan are one of the few bargains available to consumers here - about $ 2 a pack .
you hit the cupie doll on the head. they use smokers, a vilified group as the test case. the rest of shoppers who use the internet are next, after all, its only fair right?
precedent, precedent, precedent.
Here's another story for you. Years ago, when I was married, my wife got a job for about three-four months before Christmas, to help with the expense of it. She never worked other than that the whole time we were married. I filed taxes as I always did. After we'd divorced, the IRS came after me for back taxes, claiming I'd made a mistake that year when filing. The bastards waited 7 years to the day-since that's the cut-off point for coming after you. That way, they let the interest build up. The initial mistake was for roughly 250.00. With their interest -compounded on a DAILY basis (yes, you read that right), I owed them close to $3,000. I started trying to pay it off, but never got very far ahead, since the interest kept outgaining me. I finally had to take a loan out at my credit union to pay it off & get them out of my hair. Took me almost two years to pay that loan back, but it was worth it.
That's nuts.
The thing of it is: when an online store has an outlet in your state, then they have to charge state taxes.
aaarrrrrggggggghhhh
Well, that's NY
Did you know that after you paid it off and got your paid in full slip from them you could file to have all the penalties and intrest returned to you? I had a similiar situation and my tax lady got it all back for me except of course the actual tax paid.
What I have found that seems relevant to the tobacco user's plight is this - It seems that the governments formulate laws which by design cause the price of a said commodity to rise to artificially high prices so that the governments can reap the highest profit level possible. The governments probably learned some key information to use on this agenda from the prohibition of alcohol.
There is a huge spread between what tobacco actually costs to produce and what the public has to pay for it. It might be time to grow your own or at least roll your own.
The use tax violates the federal interstate commerce clause and is illegal. But rest asssured that the feds will do nothing to stop it.
We started losing our constitutional republic 80 years ago and the march toward a socialist-collectivist state that doesn't recognize individual or state sovereignty continues.
Another alternative...Quit smoking...smell a heck of a lot better...
So does Connecticut. I was stationed there in the 70s and they wanted to collect sales tax on a car I had purchased three states ago. (They didn't get it.)
They know through subpoena power. All they have to do is march into court and ask for a subpoena for the vendor to provide sales records of who from their state or city bought what. The vendor either complies or gets hammered with contempt fines.
The records have to be kept to make certain that what is claimed on IRS forms has backing in the records. Just a matter of finding the right records.
It might be more difficult to get records of stereo and clothing sales though because they aren't regulated by the ATF.
Everything you purchase online is recorded with the vendor and with the credit card company.
As cities and states become more desperate expect for these things to happen. We live within 25 miles of the NY state border. PA doesn't tax food or clothes while NY does. At one time NY tax agents were driving around mall parking lots recording the license numbers of NY cars then sending letters to the owners asking what they bought and please pay the tax on it. This usually happens right around the time people are buying school clothes.
Something to be said for paying with cash.
And on that note: I remember hearing on the radio about Anh-Bush Beer Company knows that every summer approx. 1 out of every 5 of their delivery trucks will be hijacked by organized crime. A guy will come into a diner, walk up to the driver of the AB truck, stuff a $100 bill in his shirt pocket and say, "You didn't see nothing." The empty truck will be found, pulled over to the side, a mile or so down the road.
Yup....now wouldn't you just love being distribution manager at a tobacco company?
Illinois also sticks it to used car buyers. You can't get plates until you pay the tax.
You can buy prepaid cards in drugstores and such, which you can use as credit cards for making online purchases. One more step towards preserving your anonymity
PA doesn't tax food or clothes while NY does. At one time NY tax agents were driving around mall parking lots recording the license numbers of NY cars
PA sells liquor only thru official "State Stores". They were annoyed at Philly people going into NJ to get lower prices and better selection at one point, and had agents take down license numbers of people in the liquor stores just across the bridge, and had people pulled over at the tolls.
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