Posted on 02/04/2007 4:51:40 PM PST by Malacoda
BRICK, N.J. -- New Jersey residents who buy their cigarettes over the Internet are experiencing a big reason to quit: huge sales tax bills.
The state is cracking down on residents who buy their smokes online in order to avoid state sales tax, a development that has caught many Garden State smokers by surprise.
Brick resident Craig Mathews, 57, quit smoking last April, but not before racking up a $10,426.11 sales tax bill for buying cigarettes over the Web for years.
Another Brick resident, Tim Nolan, 52, received a sales tax bill from the state for $4,115.28 for the Pall Mall cigarettes he purchased online from July 2003 to March 2005.
Both men said they bought the cigarettes over the Internet in order to save money and didn't know that they had to pay sales tax to the state of New Jersey.
"We should have gotten a warning," Nolan told the Asbury Park Press for Sunday's newspapers. "We were ignorant of the law."
A professor at Rutgers School of Law, Mark Weiner, said under a federal law called the Jenkins Act, tobacco companies who sell their products to out-of-state consumers must report sales information to the state where the consumer lives.
According to Tom Vincz, a spokesman for the state Treasury Department, the state collects about $4 million a year from sales tax on out-of-state cigarettes.
Vincz said sometimes cigarette sellers will voluntarily offer the information to states, but often the states must demand it from the Internet sites.
CHAPTER 10A—COLLECTION OF STATE CIGARETTE TAXES
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§ 376. Reports to State tobacco tax administrator
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(a) Contents
Any person who sells or transfers for profit cigarettes in interstate commerce, whereby such cigarettes are shipped into a State taxing the sale or use of cigarettes, to other than a distributor licensed by or located in such State, or who advertises or offers cigarettes for such a sale or transfer and shipment, shall—
(1) first file with the tobacco tax administrator of the State into which such shipment is made or in which such advertisement or offer is disseminated a statement setting forth his name and trade name (if any), and the address of his principal place of business and of any other place of business; and
(2) not later than the 10th day of each calendar month, file with the tobacco tax administrator of the State into which such shipment is made, a memorandum or a copy of the invoice covering each and every shipment of cigarettes made during the previous calendar month into such State; the memorandum or invoice in each case to include the name and address of the person to whom the shipment was made, the brand, and the quantity thereof.
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Tax Agreements and purchases of goods over the internet are not part of the Jenkins Act. The Jenkins Act is part of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm law. I am sure you probably know that.
Which states to not tax tobacco products?
If collected, it should be included AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE by the vendor. Then you avoid things like this.
"Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with." ('Atlas Shrugged' 1957)
Because, they want their taxes.
BTW, they really don't care about health.
Makes them complicit.
I started to chew and dip, so I hope they stand back if they knock on my door for back taxes.
Wait and see.
"I don't believe Indian Reservations will sell to you unless you can prove you are an Indian or a member of a tribe."
We buy ours from an out of state indian reservation and they won't report to the state.
If you buy from a reservation within your state you get reported.
Roll 'em. $9.00 a carton.
Not being a smoker, it shouldn't matter much to me, but I hope many take notice of your excellent point.
Anybody with any sense would have gotten the hell out of NJ a long time ago. That state is so laughably corrupt. Those that remain have the kind of government they deserve and they deserve to be taxed 100%.
Hint: BATFE
This is another reason that I started stuffing my own using locally bought products.
ping
Barnes & Noble has "bricks & mortar" stores in Idaho. When I order books from the B&N website, I have to pay Idaho sales tax. The same would apply to an order from Cabela's. They have a store in Idaho as well. Amazon doesn't charge sales tax because they have no physical stores. Still, many states of "sales tax" and "use tax". If you don't pay sales tax, you are required to pay "use tax". Failure to pay the "use tax" is tax evasion. Amazon's discounts and free shipping are hard to beat. Keeping track of the sales tax isn't a big deal compared to making a 100 mile round trip to Idaho Falls to purchase the same book at Barnes and Noble. It's much less expensive than hiring a lawyer to represent you in a tax evasion case.
Incorrect. I know people up in Marxist-Homo WA state who were non-Indians who bought smokes from the Tribe smoke shops. They have drive through smoke shops on some of the rez's and you don't even have to get out of your car.
I don't know about this but I do know that I never heard of a single retailer being prosecuted for NOT complying with the Jenkins Act law to report their internet cigarette sales. The states were not interested in the law--they were interested in the taxes. Individuals not paying the taxes were caught by the State subpoenas of the cigarette sales records of the retailer. The on-line retailer probably never heard of the Jenkins Act as it is something dragged out from the 40's. Does that ignorance make him any more worthy of a pass by the law? It is all a bunch of crap anyway. We should be able to do the same as business and government do. Get the most from our money where ever it takes us with no penalties.
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