Smokers asked to cough up taxes for Web buys

Are you saying an excise tax is unlawful ?

Are you saying an excise tax is unlawful ?

Not for a STATE (i.e. political subdivision or artificial or 'legal' entity)

When the Constitution SAYS 'the States' it MEANS 'the States' NOT THE PEOPLE!

The subject of the article is a state tax on cigarettes. Is that legal, unlawful or otherwise void in your world ?

Is that legal, unlawful or otherwise void in your world ?

Why ask me?

YOU'RE the expert on our 'Constitutional Republic'

[T]he laws of nature . . . of course presupposes the existence of a God, the moral ruler of the universe, and a rule of right and wrong, of just and unjust, binding upon man, preceding all institutions of human society and government.
John Quincy Adams

The law of nature, “which, being coeval with mankind and dictated by God Himself, is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this.”
Alexander Hamilton, Signer of the Constitution

The “law of nature” is a rule of conduct arising out of the natural relations of human beings established by the Creator and existing prior to any positive precept. . . . [These] have been established by the Creator, and are, with a peculiar felicity of expression, denominated in Scripture, “ordinances of heaven.”
Noah Webster, Judge and Legislator

Good day, Sir.... and EDUCATE yourself!

Why ask me?

Because you made some nutty statements and I'm trying to determine if they are relevant to this discussion or simply rants. Is the subject tax legal, lawful and otherwise valid in your world.

I live in a state that has an income tax. I also live in a rural area. I often order things on line or from catalogues as that is the only way I can purchase them without extended motor trips. If the companies I do business with require me to pay sales tax, I do. Most, however don't. When the states get their act together and start requiring the payment of these taxes, do you think they will go back the allowed seven years as they do with income tax, or do you feel it will be a "from this date on" sort of deal?

Unless you file a return, the statute of limitations doesn't begin. Therefore, the state can go back to the day you were born. If you file a return and do so with good faith, the statute of limitations for most taxes is 3 years.

they actually asked for you to report income earned illegally?

As I recall they only did it for two years. I would guess it didn't net them anything except guffaws, snickers and snarky jokes about various members of our esteemed legislature (or Great and General Court, as they like to hear themselves referred to).

I'll have to make a note of your name! ;-) Just in case I need it for future reference.

Is the subject tax legal, lawful and otherwise valid in your world.

If you actually knew what a Republic WAS instead of just giving lip service to the word,

you wouldn't even have to ASK that question.

I assume then the answer is yes you agree the tax on cigarettes by states is lawful, legal and otherwise okay.

Second question, why are only certain biblical laws applicable in your idea of natural law ? Is only part of the bible valid ? How did you determine which sections apply and which we get to ignore ?

On my state income tax returns for 03 and before, there is no mention of sales taxes. I've yet to see the 04 form. If such a line is on the 04 form, how far back would I be libel for. Sorry if this sounds ridiculous, but I am incapable of understanding bureaucratese or legalese. That's why I pay to have them done.

republic (in government) Did you mean: Plato's Republic (by Plato), Republic, Washington (WA), Republic, Pennsylvania (PA), Republic, Ohio (OH), Republic, Missouri (MO), Republic, Michigan (MI) More...

Dictionary

re·pub·lic (rĭ-pŭb'lĭk) pronunciation

n.

1. A political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in modern times is usually a president.
2. A nation that has such a political order.
1. A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them.
2. A nation that has such a political order.
often Republic A specific republican government of a nation: the Fourth Republic of France.
An autonomous or partially autonomous political and territorial unit belonging to a sovereign federation.
A group of people working as equals in the same sphere or field: the republic of letters.

[French république, from Old French, from Latin rēspūblica : rēs, thing + pūblica, feminine of pūblicus, of the people; see public.]

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Encyclopedia

republic [Lat. res publica,=public affair], today understood to be a sovereign state ruled by representatives of a widely inclusive electorate. The term republic formerly denoted a form of government that was both free from hereditary or monarchical rule and had popular control of the state and a conception of public welfare. It is in this sense that we speak of the ancient Roman republic. Today, in addition to the above characteristics, a republic is a state in which all segments of society are enfranchised and in which the state's power is constitutionally limited. Traditionally a republic is distinguished from a true democracy in that the republic operates through a representative assembly chosen by the citizenry, while in a democracy the populace participates directly in governmental affairs. In actual practice, however, most modern representative governments are closer to a republic than a democracy. The United States is an example of a federal republic, in which the powers of the central government are limited and the component parts of the nation, the states, exercise some measure of home rule. France is an example of a centralized republic, in which the component parts have more limited powers. The USSR, though in theory a grouping of federated republics and autonomous regions, was in fact a centralized republic until its breakup in 1991.

Directory > General Reference > Encyclopedia > republic

Politics

republic

A form of government in which power is explicitly vested in the people, who in turn exercise their power through elected representatives. Today, the terms republic and democracy are virtually interchangeable, but historically the two differed. Democracy implied direct rule by the people, all of whom were equal, whereas republic implied a system of government in which the will of the people was mediated by representatives, who might be wiser and better educated than the average person. In the early American republic, for example, the requirement that voters own property and the establishment of institutions such as the Electoral College were intended to cushion the government from the direct expression of the popular will.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.

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Legal

re·pub·lic
n.

A government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president; also A political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government
A government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law; also A political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law 1996. Merriam-Webster's, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

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WordNet

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun republic has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
Synonyms: democracy, commonwealth

Meaning #2: a form of government whose head of state is not a monarch

Directory > Language > WordNet > republic

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Wikipedia

republic

Modern republics

A republic is a form of government (and a state so governed) where the head of state is not a monarch. The word is derived from the Latin res publica, or "public affair", and suggests an ownership and control of the state by the population at large. The concept of democracy, however, is not implicit to that of a republic. The republican form of government may involve a limited democracy, where such rights are available only to a limited group of people. In some cases, a republic may be a dictatorial or totalitarian state. The term is also broad enough to include representative democracies.

The use of a republic goes back at least as far as ancient Akkad. The best known ancient republic was the Roman Republic, which lasted from 509 BC until 44 BC. In the Roman Republic, the principles of annuality (holding office for a term of only one year) and collegiality (at least two men held the office at the same time) were usually observed.

In modern times, the head of state of a republic is usually formed by only one person, the president, but there are some exceptions such as Switzerland, which has a seven-member council as its head of state, called the Bundesrat, and San Marino, where the position of head of state is shared by two people.

There is certainly nothing that says that among monarchies and republics one is necessarily more democratic than the other since the powers of the head of state (whether monarch or president) may be purely ceremonial, (although an elected head of state within a democratic system is generally considered more democratic than a monarchy). Monarchs generally reign for life, and when they die they are succeeded by a relative, either chosen by themselves or determined according to set rules. Many modern constitutional monarchies are very democratic, featuring a popularly elected parliament. The presidents of republics, by contrast, are generally elected for a limited term, and their successors are chosen by the body that elected them. These days even non-democratic republics generally claim to be democratic, though the outcome of the election may be assured, and still maintain the ritual of regularly electing their head of state; and frequently in these states, heads of states have left office voluntarily (through resignation or retirement) or been forced out (through constitutional means) by other members of the ruling elite. But there are still some exceptions -- each new Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, for instance, was elected by the chief princes of the empire, though over the centuries the custom developed of always electing successive members of a particular family to that office.

Republics in the Soviet Union were member states which had to meet three criteria to be named republics, 1) Be on the periphery of the Soviet Union so as to be able to take advantage of their theoretical right to secede, 2) be economically strong enough to be self sufficient upon secession, And 3) Be named after at least one million people of the ethnic group which should make up the majority population of said republic. Republics were originally created by Stalin and continue to be created even today.

States of the United States are required, like the federal government, to be republican in form, with final authority resting with the people. This was required because the states were intended to create and enforce most domestic laws, with the exception of areas deligated to the federal government and prohibited to the states. The founding fathers of the country intended most domestic laws to be handled by the states, although, over time, the federal government has gained more and more influence over domestic law. Requiring the states to be a republic in form was also seen as protecting the citizens' rights and preventing a state from becoming a dictatorship or monarchy.

Republic in classic and renaissance texts

(main article: Classical definition of republic)

Before roughly the 18th century, all known republics were also more or less democratic. This is why in older texts you will often see republic being used interchangeably with democracy. In recent times there have been a large number of not-so-democratic republics, and the definition of the word has become more constrained.

Examples

Currently there is a very large number of republics in the world. A republican form of government can be combined with many different kinds of economy and democracy. Some examples for certain forms of republic are:

USA, Germany are federal republics governed by representative democracy
Switzerland is a confederal republic governed by a combination of representative democracy and direct democracy.
Russia is a federation of semi-autonomous republics (states) and directly ruled provinces.
Iran is a theocratic republic.

Historic Republics:
- Sparta (c. late 7th Century BC-146 BC)
- Athens (c. early 6th Century BC-c. mid 4th Century BC)
- The Roman Republic (509 BC-c.44 BC)
- Carthage (308 BC-146 BC)
- The Republic of Venice (c.9th Century-1797)
- The French Republic (1792-1804)
- The Republic of Texas (1836-1845)
- The Commonwealth of England (1649-1660)
- The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (1581-1795)
- The Soviet Union (1917-1991) was a federal republic

Note that while Sparta was considered a republic, monarchy played a part in their government, and while Athens would be considered a republic today, it was described as a democracy in Classical times. In Greek, the distinction between democracy and republic does not exist (since, as noted above, republic is a word of Roman origin). Ancient Greek authors described non-monarchical regimes as oligarchies (if they were ruled by a small group of citizens), tyrannies (if they were ruled by one person who had risen to power by means of coup) or democracies (if right to vote and be elected was given to a large number of citizens, included the lower classes).

Most states have separate forms for the use tax as it is a separate tax from income tax. Even if you don't have any nontaxable purchases I would recommend entering "none" on the form and filing it.

"Asked", huh?

Based on the limited reading I've done on the subjct:
the states are a year +/- away from forming a body to enact/authorize/exact a common sales tax for internet purchases.

I can't see how the tax could be retoactive..----> no record keeping.

What's the 7 years of which you speak ? the IRS goes back 3yrs..except for fraud.

rc, we kind of get your view on the state revenue pirates. Not a whole lot of people here agree with you.

But, it takes all kinds to make the Free Republic, and having the viewpoint of a TaxNut like yourself enriches the conversation. It enables the rest of us who really mean to do something about the situation to get a glimpse of the tunnel vision of our opponents.

I know you mean well, but standing on the old "I'll roust out my reps" is a crock of poo, and you've been on here long enough to know it.

Not a whole lot of people here agree with you.

Most Freepers are law abiding and not tax cheats and certainly not the kind to encourage others to break the law.

I'm not sure, but it may be because of what's happening (in Maine at least), per this thread posted by SheLion.

Well, I have been ordering 1lb bags of loose tobacco and filtered tubes on a regular basis and so far so good.

I don't even have to sign for the box, although they all know that I live here with no kids, so that's properly the reason.

But so far, I have been able to have tobacco products delivered to my house. No question's asked, thank God!

Thanks. I'm just a little guy with uncomplicated finances. However, my biggest fear is running afoul of the gov't. and not knowing it until it's too late. The thought that some bureaucrat could make my life a living hell, as I've seen them do to others, is my worst nightmare.