WEB SELLERS BURN TAX-DODGE PUFFERS

New York Post ^ | 6/29/03 | AL GUART

[kattracks]

New Yorkers dodging heavy taxes on cigarettes by buying from Native American sellers on the Internet could be hearing soon from the taxman.

Under a settlement in the federal appeals court, the Ojibwa Trading Post, a popular online cigarette vendor based in upstate New York, has agreed to report its sales and hand over customer names to authorities every two weeks, effective immediately.

[Gabz]

Now what do I do? I do not want the Feds after me...

Grow your own tobacco and make your own cigarettes.

Or by loose tobacco and make your own cigarettes

[metesky]

I too smoke because I choose to and although I 've been smoking steadily since the late 50's I've stopped twice for periods of over a year because I wanted to.

Heck if it wasn't for food and gas for the buggy, I could go months without buying anything (except internet access! pant, pant! Can't survive without FR).

Wifey thinks that if inane thoughts and actions were nourishing, I'd never have to spend a penny.

[Gabz]

Not necessary - grow your own. The law permits individuals to grow up to 1/10 of an acre for personal use.

Tobacco is easy to grow and dry and it doesn't have all the nasty additives found in cigarettes made by the TCs - and it doesn't have all the insidious taxes either.

Tobacco can be grown in all of the lower 48 states and in parts of Canada.

[lewislynn]

Quitting, my dear sir, has never been an American response.

Tell that to the owners of bars and restaurants when you "quit" going because you can't go without a cigarette for 30 minutes......

[norton]

That's why tobacco and tobacco products will never be made illegal, to produce, sell, (and tax).

Of course, using them will continue to be a problem and users of them will continue to be demonized.

(Now that sodomy is legal, I wonder if society will start to treat homosexuals the same way it has treated smokers?)

Nah!

[norraad]

Wow, talk about PC, you'd think a garden show might feature this.

All those cutsy syrupy how to do-it-yourself-&-save money shows wouldn't go near it.

It would be neat to see though.

I always thought it was pretty plant for all it's plainess.

Be worth a thousand dollars/year + or - for green thumb, brown fingered smokers.

[Gabz]

LOL!!!!

I moved to my new digs too late to start this year - but I have all intentions of doing so next year.

We have been making our own cigarettes for over 3 years now, and while I pay all proper federal and state taxes on my loose tobacco and filter tubes for them I have still estimated that I have kept an additional $1,500 per year out of the hands of the taxing agents and the states because of the MSA.

And more and more folks are turning to make your own every day.

[metesky]

Tell that to your family when you're busy bending your knee and tugging your forelock to everyone in any position of authority.

By the way, louiselyn, you're quite the one-trick pony, eh? You've made this "argument" ad nauseum and it has been refuted a thousand times.

Let me repeat one more time:

The owners of restaurants and bars are not my friends that I somehow owe a specious loyalty too. They are business owners who supply food, drink and an atmosphere in which I and others like me feel comfortable. When through state intervention or owner preference, that atmosphere changes to the point where my legal habits are not allowed and I no longer feel comfortable, I don't personally care if they all ESAD.

Or perhaps you thought that they were supplying me with free food and drink for a number of years and thus I "owe" them something.

You are indeed a twirp.

[Madame Dufarge]

I read this moronic post implying if that a cigarette sales tax would lead inexorably to tyranny.

Whose post do you consider moronic?

[weegee]

I think that this is one reason that marijuana will never be legal. There are those who say "legalize it then tax the hell out of it". The feds won't get their tax money because it is easier to grow pot at home than tobacco.

All "legalizing" it would do is move the DEA to be a branch of the ATF-M.

[jmc813]

WOD Ping

[Great Dane]

They just gotta have their grubby little hands on that money.

[Wolfie]

Then they came for me - And there was no-one left To speak out for me.

I'd speak out, I really would, but I'm too busy hiding my marijuana use from the Government. I feel for cigarette smokers, but I kinda think that the more time and resources they spend chasing around after the smokers, the less they'll have to spend chasing after me.

[Freedom4US]

Tobacco is easy to grow and dry...

Better start now, though. It needs aging for a couple years to be any good, from what I've read. Your post sounds suspiciously like someone who's never actually tried it, heh. But good idea. I'm slowly building up a stash of Bugler and American Spirit canned tobacco, with papers inside. Much tastier than the floor-sweepings discount brands. Nothing compares to a good virginia flue-cured ciggie, like Marlboro or Winston or whatever, but they are pushing 30 bucks a carton around here.

[JustAnAmerican]

"Better start now, though. It needs aging for a couple years to be any good, from what I've read.

Sounds like a very good money making opportunity in the making to me. If I were a tobacco farmer I would partition out my land in plots, lease these plots to smokers to grow tobacco in, the price of leasing said plot would also include the Farmer growing and curing the tobacco(remember the tobacco does not belong to the farmer so he does not have to "sell" it and collect the taxes.

Thus no taxes on the cigarettes produced, and very little tax having to be paid by said tobacco farmer(Become incorporated).Cigarettes would probably average 30-40 cents a pack.Ahh, now that would be a great way to give those tax and spend Idiots the brush off.

[freekitty]

I have heard the tobacco lawsuits came about through approximately 11 lawyers who paid about $500,000 a piece so they could reap millions. It was a business deal that obviously profited handsomely.

[Fiddlstix]

Good Grief!

[Semper911]

People will start to buy offshore, like everything else.

Already being done. Buy them from Switzerland. Go here:

YesSmoke.com

Marlboros at $14.95 a carton, no kidding. And they are much softer and fresher than what you buy here. And free shipping, or you can select priority shipping for $2 per carton.

Takes about a week to get your shipment. It's all legal (I guess) because they ship each carton in a separate package, making it exempt from duty. From their website:

The cigarettes on sale at Yesmoke.com can be tax free because they are sold from a BONDED WAREHOUSE. This term is used to indicate goods which are not subjected to taxes in the source country. In agreement with the Swiss Customs Authorities, products are stocked in the free zone of the Swiss Customs.

Plus there is that warm feeling you get when you know you beat the tax man. Ha!

[Gabz]

Your post sounds suspiciously like someone who's never actually tried it, heh.

Of course it sounds that way - because I have never tried it!!!! But there is always a first time for everything.

But all kidding aside, I was under the impression that it didn't need all that long for the drying/curing process - but I could be wrong as I am still reading up on it.

I've been using a tobacco called "61" which I find to be even better than manufactured premium or discount brands.

It runs me $11.25 per pound and my filter tubes are about $2.00 per carton box - so for $17.25 and an hour or so here and there I get 3 cartons of premium tasting cigs without all the nasty additives. And that's a lot better than the $17.99 hubby paid the other day for a carton of salem for me - although that really wasn't all that bad of a price. (we are awaiting the arrival of or new machine and thus am stuck with buying premade ones, til next week!!)

One other advantage of the MYO over the manufactured ones, because all the additives aren't present they last longer - no burning like incense in the ashtray when working or doing something - they go out. So where I used to burn through 2 packs a day - it's now about 1/2 to 3/4 depending upon what I'm doing.

[Gabz]

I feel for cigarette smokers, but I kinda think that the more time and resources they spend chasing around after the smokers, the less they'll have to spend chasing after me.

I understand your position and actually have no problem with it.

Now if more folks hiding their MJ from the government would just understand that us tobacco smokers are trying to keep our product from going the same way, as opposed to the general idea that we don't care about the issue - we all might just be able to accomplish something.

I have a friend who's soon to be ex-wife is a regular MJ user, which I don't care about...she has been active in writing letters and speaking out about the issue for quite some time, which I give her much credit for. My problem stems from what I consider to be her hypocritical stance regarding cannabis and tobacco, let alone alcohol. Tobacco and alcohol were not permitted to be brought into, let alone used in her house because of the presence of their daughter. And she railed against me because for what she considered my corupting influence on my friend getting him to participate in some of the things we were doing to keep out the tobacco smoking ban.

Yet on numerous times I walked into their house and found her purchasing her product or using it - while her daughter was in the house.

Disagreements I can handle - hypocrisy is a different thing and I always found her position to be hypocritical. But that's just me. I'm one person and have limited time to deal with things, so I pick and choose my battles carefully.