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alexnc

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 25, 2015
953
804
Southeast US
I actually don’t mind paying their taxes. It’s still a drastic jump in the selection of what’s available. I like my local B&M but they don’t have a serious selection of tobaccos.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,832
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
According to the CPA I used for my taxes, Sablebrush's statement is also correct for the state of Louisiana.
BTW, Louisiana is one of the states that has entered into a compact with a number of other southern and mid west states, to cross track and report on online tobacco sales to consumers.

 

elessar

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2019
667
1,398
If I am paying sales tax on my orders, collected by the online site, is the concencus that am I good to go then? Just curious if I should be expecting one of these letters in future as well.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,832
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
If I am paying sales tax on my orders, collected by the online site, is the concencus that am I good to go then? Just curious if I should be expecting one of these letters in future as well.
If the tax collected includes the excise tax, you're good. If not, you may be in for a surprise.

 

gatorlope

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 5, 2019
503
196
South Florida
I don’t think any of us is going to forget about the guy who died for selling a cigarette on a New York City street corner...
I just mailed myself some tobacco to my sister’s out of state, because I’m visiting. So it’s from me, to me and for my own consumption. They can’t hassle me over that, can they?

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,248
108,340
I don’t think any of us is going to forget about the guy who died for selling a cigarette on a New York City street corner...
That's the first time I've heard about it.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,832
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I just mailed myself some tobacco to my sister’s out of state, because I’m visiting. So it’s from me, to me and for my own consumption. They can’t hassle me over that, can they?
It's about sales. So if you didn't sell some tobacco to yourself before shipping it to your sister, or your sister didn't buy some tobacco from you for you to ship to yourself, there shouldn't be any problem.

 

gatorlope

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 5, 2019
503
196
South Florida
About what I thought. So I’m cool.

27 years in the USPS and it would have been the first time that I’d ever heard that you couldn’t mail yourself a legal substance that you already owned!

 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
The states that are part of the interstate compact referenced by Sablebrush (and me, earlier in this thread I think and certainly elsewhere when this topic has come up) all have underlying tax statutes that treat RYO, or pipe tobacco that is in reality used for roll your own cigarettes, as only one “other tobacco product” (OTP);. That _ perceived_ “loophole” is a whole different kettle of fish. Thus my “RYO per se” usage. In any event, it does not strike me that Top Hat really emphasizes that market to the same extent others (Windy City Cigar comes to mind) do.
The use tax issue does not effect me as I live in a state that has virtually eliminated the requirement to file a state income tax return unless you have a bunch more interest and dividend income than I do, but the question about out of state purchases was asked in years before the law was changed. Again, a different issue, though come enforcement time you would likely be billed for both the OTP and the use tax if, like Louisiana apparently, your state knew some of your out of state purchases included OTP
The exact membership of the states in the referenced compact is unknown to me. I used to know the name of the damn thing and could have found this information out from that, but age has taken its toll on my memory. I believe I know the identity of a few states that are not, but that information is based on a discussion I had almost 3 years ago and could have changed.
At the present time, based on my state’s laws in force at this writing, the much feared universal collection of all sales taxes from out of state sellers of anything, wherever based, is a long way from happening for reasons that are too complicated to even begin to go into. There does not seem to be any discernible momentum for a “Federal fix” which many have hoped for. Once you dive into the weeds, this is a topic that is incredibly complicated, even more so than has been written about in detailed stories in places like the Wall Street Journal. Too bad I am retired:).

 
May 8, 2017
1,593
1,627
Sugar Grove, IL, USA
Be aware, too, that the Feds have started looking at imported pipes. A friend recently shared a story of a huge bill he received for duty on a fine pipe he had ordered. I believe he said it was something instituted this year.

 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
The duty on imported new pipes used to be a minimal amount, like 3% or so of the value on the shippers pro forma invoice. Federal Express sometimes adds a flat processing fee. About 1/3 of the pipes I have ordered from Italy have been followed by a credit card charge of a few bucks for import duty. I have never been hit with the FedEx flat charge, but a friend has. Some pipes that have escaped duty were more expensive than ones that were charged it. All had full value customs paperwork. This has been a consistent pattern since I first started dealing with Italian sellers decades ago. Strangely, Dunhills I purchased in at least 5 separate transactions with Barber back in the late 1990’s all incurred duties, but 3% or so was nothing compared to the savings.

 

cerfer

Might Stick Around
May 8, 2017
64
0
I went large on some Rattray's 250g bags there a while back; I wonder if my letter will arrive next week.
MI law seems to have been written with the intent to go after cigarettes (in 2005, MI imposed a tax of $2/pack, and so many people didn't want to pay it and sought cigs elsewhere; a pack of cigarettes here is $7, which is what I once paid for a carton of Marlboros back in the day), but the wording is ''cigarettes and other tobacco products.'' What a surprise, a gov't agency expanding its reach/intent because it can.

 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
Actually, no. States ask you to report online sales and purchases and to pay the requested "user" taxes on those sales. Most people just ignored this figuring that nobody would ever find out. I always paid my "user" taxes because I believed that the day would come when states would become active in demanding those payments.

This is news to me but I’ll admit to being fully ignorant when it comes to taxes, I just pay what they force me to pay, nothing more nothing less.

 

cohibajoe

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 2, 2018
722
1,165
Branchburg, NJ
I have received 2 Letters this year from NJ Tax..$31 and $35 I owed. They had 2 invoices which I cannot cross reference to the purchases. I would like to know who is reporting this so I can stop buying from them.

 
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