More bad news, NOT HEALTH RELATED

Joined May 2005
182 Posts | 0+
I just got done remodeling the living room of my home and the dining room. It was a lot of work, kept me very busy. I'm just getting some spare time to catch up on some reading and posting.

I read a certain news letter today about how Florida and louisiana are trying to go after people who purchase tobacco ( Cigars ) over the internet and mail order for taxes and back taxes. Some pretty stiff allegations going on, very eye opening to say the least. Bulling companies into giving them there customer names and copies of there orders. California is trying to add some kinda 136% tax on tobacco, SanteFe has banned smoking from within 25 feet of a main entrance to buildings. Like jersey!

I thought the government already ruled on taxes from internet sells as non-taxable, like mail order always has been. If you buy from your state you have to pay taxes, but from across state lines it's all good. I don't get it. Also the strong arm tactics are pretty scary, you have to prove you didn't purchase tobacco products if they get your name from UPS, or FED-EX. What the $*&^ is up with that.

Well I hope most of you vote, and keep an eye on whats going on in your town, and state. Maybe a letter to your senator about this pure invasion of your privacy & rights as an American. Seems lately they don't care what the people want, but about putting money into there pockets.

I can here my mother now, "We'll smoking is bad and you should have to pay for increased medical cost" like that's were the money goes, & also if they can do it to me with tobacco products, they can do it to you on books, movies ETC.

Any way, sorry to ramble but everyone should be aware of whats going on, those small Little laws and bills they pass, can become big trouble later. Keep your eyes and ears open.
 
I have made several purchases of furniture in North Carolina. They always tell you that you are responsible for paying the sales tax in your State. If you make the purchase when you are physically in NC you must pay NC taxes etc. If you make the purchase over the phone when you are in NJ you must pay the taxes to NJ. Delaware has no sales tax. I was tax billed just about a month ago for a purchase I made in NC last year. NJ is cracking down on out of State purchases. I don't know if there is a difference if you use the phone verses an internet purchase.

Do you have a link to that ruling about internet sales being exempt from sales tax??
 
No I do not. I thought that I had read a few years back that, the supreme court or congress ruled that internet sales were like catalogue sales. I maybe wrong.
 
I have heard of Michigan doing something similar in collecting back taxes on tobacco products but only for people buying, like, 300 cartons of cigarettes over a relatively small time period.

If the powers that be want to come after me for the taxes on a box of cigars here and there then so be it, I am more disgusted with the waste of taxpayer monies to pay someones salary to go over all the sale receipts and track down scofflaws than I am paying up a few bucks on some tax I may have missed.

One more reason that probably 95% of my cigar shopping is done in town and will continue to be.
 
only assuming here since they only hit me up for the one purchase. Maybe they can only go back one year??
 
The US Constitution prohibits the several sates from regulating interstate commerce. That power is reserved to the federal government. If an internet sale from one state to another isn't interstate commerce, I don't know what would be.

I've always thought that this pretty well answered the question. Can someone tell me how this isn't a bulletproof argument?
 
It's the difference between theory and practice. In theory you are probably right, but the fact is that states will frequently encroach upon our constitutional rights and it isn't consequential enough for someone to put up the money for a lawsuit to fight. It would likely be similar here. Tobacco purchasers are probably not the most sympathetic group to the public and getting popped every once and awhile to pay taxes on a box of cigars is not enough of an annoyance to drive the tax payer, who likely does not even know about the constitutional violation in the first place, to do anything about it. Law suits are expensive to bring, so you either need a lot of money at stake or a significant violation of a right to bring one. Neither of those would be implicated with being required to pay a tax on tobacco. That's my cynical answer, but I think its realistic.
 
What is the specific violation of the Constitution? If the Constitution prohibits the regulation of interstate commerse, does taxation rise to the level of a violation?
 
I don't really care about the taxes, I'm more worried about how Florida and LA are getting the info on me, you, them, etc. I talked about it to a guy at work today and he said, "Bottom Line", they can not force any company to give them info on you about any thing, with out a court order. Now he is no lawyer or any thing, but it made sense to me.

I know in the article it was said that UPS out right told Florida they can not have the info. Some other company in NJ said the same thing. Thank goodness for that.

Not trying to get in trouble here, but the story is on "CA.com" the insider news letter. I don't know if everyone can read it cause I think you have to subscribe to the Cigar Aficionado magazine. But maybe you can try and check it out.

Just opened my eyes a little about some of the things I think are private, and of course are not, that's all.
 
I read this in another site regarding the CA article on Florida and Louisiana attempting to collect cigar tax on internet purchases. Here is a comment by one of the members, I thought it is humorous, but makes sense:

“However, it is often the case that individual consumers are unaware that Louisiana, no differently than other states in the nation, protects its local retailers through a consumer use tax and associated excise taxes on out-of-state purchases of products intended [for] use within our state.”

"Intended for use within our state"...

OK Fine I'll go along with that, except my internet purchases are not intended for use within my state, they are intended to be sent to people outside my state, so based on their own language, I do not owe any tax on those. Any that I receive from a B/Sotl from outside my state I should also not have to pay any tax on since I did not purchase them....