State Cracks Down On Those Avoiding Cigarette Tax

ClickonDetroit ^ | February 19, 2007 | AP

[ShadowDancer]

State Cracks Down On Those Avoiding Cigarette Tax

POSTED: 4:52 pm EST February 19, 2007

Buying cigarettes out of state?

If Michigan officials find out about it, they said they'll try to collect state taxes on the tobacco anyway.

More than 9,000 Michigan residents have been ordered to pay back taxes after buying cigarettes without paying the state's $2 tobacco tax and 6 percent use tax.

"I wouldn't have done it if I had known," Janet Jones, 64, of Shiawassee County's Owosso Township, who purchased cigarettes through mail orders from a New York-based company, told The Argus-Press for a story published Saturday.

People who violate the state's Tobacco Products Tax Act can face fines, imprisonment, or both. Individuals found guilty are liable for taxes with interest, plus a penalty of 500 percent of the amount of the tax due.

Jones was ordered to pay about $5,000 for 40 cartons she purchased in 2005 and 2006.

"The Department of Treasury has tried very hard over the past few years to make it very clear that there are no such thing as a tax-free cigarettes -- not legally anyway," spokesman Terry Stanton said.

Unstamped tobacco products are considered contraband, he said.

"If it's on the books as a tax it's our duty to ensure its collected and collect it appropriately," Stanton said.

More than 80 percent of the revenues brought in from the state tobacco tax are split between the School Aid Fund and Medicaid trust fund.

[MarkL]

I remember the first time my father came and visited me in KC from NY. I guess that this was back around 1992. He had never seen a "Wholesale Club," and was AMAZED by the prices on cigarettes. IIRC, there was about a $10 difference in the cost of a single carton. He bought 10 cases of cartons, and we UPS'ed them back to NY!

Mark

[Outland]

Terry Stanton, kiss my flaming a$$...

[KoRn]

"I'm a ciggie smoker questing to quit soon"

When you get ready to quit, give Chantix a try. It's a newer medicine and works great. I have yet to hear of anyone who has used it and failed. I know since it worked for me, it should work for anyone. Best of luck! Even with the great meds, it still has it's moments where you have to focus.

[justrepublican]

Don't for fet the elderly.

[justrepublican]

Spell checker

[1_Of_We]

Interesting that a tariff is imposed between states but not on the flood of goods from foreign shores.

[berdie]

This seems to be somewhat discriminatory. /s So will the tax police begin to inspect our packages from Amazon and Aunt Sally? From what I understand, All purchases from out of state are taxable. Do the smokers have a class action suit here?

[chasio649]

yep

[madison10]

What if someone drives over state lines, buys a trunk full of cigarettes, and then returns home to Michigan?

Then it shouldn't be any of Michigan's business, especially if the people paid a cigarette tax in another state. We have to report taxes we SHOULD have paid for items purchased online and weren't charged a tax for...like buying from Amazon.com, not just cigarettes. If we don't want to bother figuring out how much the taxes should have been we Michiganders can just use the standard $40 fee.

Sweet, huh?

[Tzimisce]

...so we can find people who are avoiding cigarette taxes, but we can't find illegal aliens?

[BulletBobCo]

You forgot the other state motto....."Allah Akbar!"

[GATOR NAVY]

The solution to all this is to learn to speak Spanish, wear a Dodgers baseball cap and never carry any form of identification on your person.

But it's ok to carry your Bank of America credit card, right?

[traviskicks]

bookmark

[Cobra64]

Thread hi-jack warning alert:

"The Department of Treasury has tried very hard over the past few years to make it very clear that there are no such thing as a tax-free cigarettes -- not legally anyway,"

Neither are illegal immigrants.

Now I feel better.

Please resume normal postings.

[Cobra64]

Roll your own.

http://www.ryocigarette.com/?OVRAW=cigarette%20rolling%20machines&OVKEY=cigarette%20rolling%20machine&OVMTC=standard&ysmwa=EtwyleFQPYpp_629iDzxLXxXjhO3mVEP2jFOczXM5C5966biCNGEfFA5PQ0Pv4tq

[berdie]

A perfect point..well said!!

[Nailbiter]

Water, specifically bottled water

[tiger-one]

Most states, guess on my part, require a signed or verbal release to search a vehicle, a warrant, or probable cause like a dog sniffing the out the weed. Make the run, on a back road, different route every time.

[robertpaulsen]

"More than 80 percent of the revenues brought in from the state tobacco tax are split between the School Aid Fund and Medicaid trust fund."

And the Stop Smoking programs? Anti-smoking advertising? Stepped-up enforcement of licensed retailers? You know, the things that were promised when you instituted this confiscatory tax?