Posted on 09/03/2007 6:33:18 PM PDT by Wheee The People
Nebraska trying to collect back cigarette taxes
Monday, September 3, 2007 4:44 PM CDT
LINCOLN, Neb. - The state of Nebraska has sent letters to more than 500 residents telling them they owe taxes for cigarettes they bought through the mail or over the Internet.
One of them, Cleo Bell of Adams, doesn't think the state cigarette tax is a fair tax. "We are already taxed to death on cigarettes," he said.
The 74-year-old buys cigarettes four cartons at a time through the mail by calling an 800 number.
The seller didn't collect the state cigarette tax of 64 cents a pack, nor the sales tax, but the law requires Bell to report those purchases and pay those taxes.
But now the state is collecting them, based on reports from the seller.
In July the state sent letters to 112 people who owed a total of $175,000. State tax commissioner Doug Ewald says about $100,000 has been paid so far.
On Aug. 16, 406 Nebraskans who owed more than $100 in back cigarette taxes were sent state letters. By the middle of last week, about $40,000 had been paid of the $190,000 those people owe, Ewald said.
Responding to one of the letters, estate representatives for one of the cigarette buyers sent in a copy of his death certificate. Ewald said the listed cause of death was lung cancer.
Bell said he's hoping to file a class-action suit against the tax, and he said the state collection efforts were unfair to smokers.
Nebraska doesn't go to such lengths to collect the sales tax owed by people who buy other products through the mail, he said.
Federal law requires those who sell and ship cigarettes into states to report those sales to the states.
But there's no such requirement for other sales, so states don't have the same database for such collection efforts, Ewald said.
It doesn't cost much to collect the cigarette tax from individuals, he said, because the sales information comes free from the sellers.
"Just pennies for every dollar collected," Ewald said.
They rummage around until they find your untaxed-in-PA booze, confiscate it for sure, read you the riot act, and if it’s your second or third time they might charge you with misdemeanor smuggling or tax evasion or something.
No personal experience here BTW — it’s a perennial story in the newspapers of the area (Philadelphia for example)
Das’ Va`da`nia Kommerad...’Nuff Said...
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Nice picture of Popeye’s mom.
welcome to the bizarro world, where a critic is deemed guilty of being a nazi
No there isn't near enough said. How convenient that one of the 500 died of lung cancer, makes for great propaganda. But let's think about this for a moment. Why would the man's estate send in a copy of his death certificate? His estate would still be liable for the past due taxes. Unless of course the state taxed him for purchases made after his death. Also why the anonymity; why is he not named so that this bit of info can be verified?
When a bit of propaganda is too good to be true, it most likely is untrue. If it isn't verified, don't believe it. Mr Ewald did not say near enough to make this believable or verifiable, but since it makes for such good print, no one is ever going to question it.
Yeah smoking will kill ya! Reagan lived to 93, and George Burns made it to 100. And they both “sucked” according to our resident nanny stater.
You ever buy something on ebay? Did you pay the sales tax in that state on the item? You must be some kind of tax cheat yourself.
Every cheat has there own rationalization.
Whatever, pal.
I don’t have to rationalize their incompetence.
I expected just such an answer/statement from you.
Why stop at tax cheat. What happened to you was really terrible. You should have the right to break any law you desire. It is only fair.
amen
This country was founded by tax cheats.
Exactly right. And, BTW, it's time for another tea party.
A pre-teen Bush and Rove created the ad too! The End Times are nigh, I tell ya!
Naw, tax cheats plenty.
Do you think only us little people should follow the law then?
Ever heard of accountability? Why do they have none?
I was accountable, and did follow the law, and I finally beat them at their own game, fair and square. It was their mistake, not mine. Therefore, I’ll now play the way they did...dirty.
And, I hope that 99.9% of the people involved in these scams find a way to beat the greedy bastages too.
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