Free Republic

Records from online vendors will help the state target buyers who didn't pay levy. California consumers and retailers who thought they had dodged sales and excise taxes when they bought cigarettes from out-of-state Internet and mail-order vendors are about to get smoked out. As part of a sweeping effort to crack down on such purchases, the state Board of Equalization has obtained 450,000 invoices from out-of-state Internet tobacco sellers showing untaxed sales to California residents over the past three years. It also has secured another 65,000 shipping records showing deliveries of 250,000 packages of untaxed cigarettes to Golden State residents...