"Oregon smokers who order off of the Internet need to find out just what DEALERS are turning in their customer lists!"
All the dealers that aren't indian reservation connected are forced by law to turn over copies of their sales.
I hope that is true. At least it is what I was assured when I ordered from a NA reservation back east. The legal point is that the 'point of sale' originates ON the reservation, if done with electronic check. Legally, it is the same as driving 100 miles to a reservation, buying 6 months supply and driving back home.
There is a conflict with this. I have heard that there are several online Smoke Shops that do 'not' turn in anything to the states/FEDS. Wonder why some do and most don't?
>>>All the dealers that aren't indian reservation connected are forced by law to turn over copies of their sales.
Are you sure? Look at this:
Seneca Tobacco Faces Taxes Online [07/18-2]
Excerpts from: Seneca Tobacco Faces Taxes Online
By Jerry Zremski, Buffalo News [07/16/05]
The Internet tobacco sales empire based on Seneca Nation land suffered another big blow this week, as one of the tribe's biggest merchants agreed in federal court to turn over his customer list to tax authorities in Washington State who plan to collect sales taxes from those purchasers.
The decision in the case is believed to be the first in the nation forcing a Native American Internet retailer to help a state collect taxes on cigarette purchases.
Seneca merchant Scott Maybee agreed to the settlement with U.S. District Court Judge Franklin D. Burgess in Tacoma, Wash.
Tobacco opponents said the decision would encourage other states to pursue similar cases. And that would put even more pressure on online tobacco merchants, who are already suffering because many credit card companies are now refusing to do business with them.
If states follow Washington's path and are able to collect taxes from people who buy cigarettes on the Internet, the huge price advantage that Internet tobacco merchants have would quickly disappear.
"If this approach is followed by attorneys general in other states, it could have a very significant impact on curtailing cigarette sales," said Eric Lindblom, manager of policy research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Lindblom said he was surprised that Maybee did not "try to use tribal sovereignty as a shield." Other Indian merchants have contended that tribal sovereignty the principle that Indian tribes are independent nations exempted them from taxation.
But Maybee's lawyer, Margaret A. Murphy of Buffalo, said she advised Maybee to comply with the law because tribal sovereignty clearly doesn't protect tribal merchants from the federal Jenkins Act, which forces all tobacco merchants to report out-of-state sales.
I am unsure whether this is true but if it is there is still another problem for the unaware tax cheat smoker. Unless the smoker filed a tax return there is no statute of limitations on their purchases. This means that if the state discovers the purchases in the future, they can collect taxes from anytime in the past. Imagine paying tax, interest and penalties on a 20 year time frame of purchases. This would surely bankrupt most smokers.