Wow! That’s crazy! I bet it added up.
I have never seen anything about a state sales tax for my state besides the 6% sales tax on everything
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Wow! That’s crazy! I bet it added up.
I have never seen anything about a state sales tax for my state besides the 6% sales tax on everything
Yes the 6% state sales tax that you pay on everything. If the vape shops haven't been charging you it then you could be on the hook for it if this is retroactive (plus penalties etc)
Sales tax is a tax on anything you buy except for exempt items like food (varies by state what is and is not taxable).
Use tax is the same as sales tax but some states call it a "use tax" when you don't pay the sales tax at the time of the sale. But it's the same tax. So if you buy something out of state and you don't pay your state's sales tax at the time of purchase, then you are obligated to pay that sales tax directly to your state and some states call this a "use tax". Regardless, it's just a tax on sales.
Just a Little Backstory on Cigarettes and Taxes.
Way Back in the Day, someone came up with this Great Idea. And that was Why Can't I sell Cigarettes from Inside an Indian Reservation where US Cigarette Taxes don't apply to people who live Outside of an Indian Reservation and just ship them using the Post Office?
It was Pure Genius. Because without the Tobacco Taxes, these "Indian Reservation" Cigarettes would be Much Cheaper. And there was an Endless supply of Smokers wanting Cheaper Smokes.
So a Cottage Industry sprang up. And Trucks Loaded with Name Brand Cigarettes started pouring into Indian Reservations to be sold "Tax Free" by Native (and in some cases, Not so Native) Indians.
There was Only 2 Problems.
One was that there is a Title in the US Tax Code that says Regardless if the Seller didn't collect the Taxes for a Taxable Item, like a Pack of Cigarettes, that it was the Buyers Responsibility to Pay the Incurred Taxes.
Now Most Smokers Didn't know this. Or even think about it. Because when they pop into there Liquor Store and buy a Pack of Smokes, they just Fork Over what a pack costs and away they go. Never thinking that for Every Pack the liquor store sold, a portion had to be sent aside and the sent to the Feds in a Tax Payment.
But Life was Good. And a lot of Native (and in some cases, Not so Native) Indians were getting Rich selling Cheaper Smokes to happy smokers. That is, Until the Feds descended on Reservation demanding that these Native (and in some cases, Not so Native) Indians turn over there Records so the Feds could go after the people who had purchased them without having paid any Tax on them.
But the Native (and in some cases, Not so Native) Indians told the Feds to go Pound Sand. And that your "Laws" didn't apply on an Indian Reservation. And hadn't you .... with Us enough anyway?
What followed was a Long and at times Ugly series of Court Battles over Serving of Warrants for Records and Meaning of Treaties and about everything else you can Imagine.
But while All this was going on, Congress was Not ideal. Which lead to the Second Problem. And that was Amendments to the Jenkins and Passage of the PACT Act. Which gave the Feds a Unified way to Collect Tobacco Taxes no matter where the item was sold. And Banned the Shipment of Cigarettes via the Post Office as well as Recorded Keeping by other "Common Carriers".
So Basically, what came out of it was you Might be able to find someone who will sell you Cigarettes that were "Tax Free". But if the Feds found out about it, then they could turn around and send you a Demand Notice for the "Back Taxes". And if you Didn't declare these Taxable Items on Last Years return, they could Slam you with a Bunch of Penalties and, of course, Compounded Interest.
When I first got here on the ECF there was a Guy who got a Nice Letter from the IRS/ATF saying that if he Didn't cough up some Ungodly amount of Money for "Tax Free" Cigarettes he had bought over the years, that they would pay him a Social Call at home. And that it would probably be a Good Idea to have a Lawyer and Toothbrush in his pocket when they came.
TL/DR: You can buy something "Tax Free" that is Taxable. But in the Eyes of the IRS, it is then Your Responsibility to pay Any and All Taxes on yourself. And if you Don't, well, you Might just get a Nice Letter saying that you Really Should.
For the record, when I got nabbed for taxes, penalties and interest on cigarette purchases from indian reservations online, it was strictly for my state's sales taxes, not any tobacco taxes.
I can Remember a time when Cigarettes were Sales Tax exempt in California. Only the Excise Tax Applied.
But those Days are Long Gone.
IIRC, the whole way back for my purchase history, which was about 3 years I believe. This involved the 2 websites I ever ordered from.
I had not ordered from them for about a year prior to getting the notice. Also, about 1/3rd of the purchases were for a guy a worked with. Thankfully he was good for his part. In fact, it was substantial because he bought expensive cigs, I ordered generics for myself.
...and since vape products have just recently been added to the PACT act past purchases aren't federally taxable.
There's the tax thing thats a concern, but also just having your name, personal info, and purchase history in a database. So then the question is how long are they keeping that info, how is it protected, and for what purposes other than tax will they be using it?
Looks to me the sum of it is that soon it's going to be you get whatever vape stuff big tobacco offers at your local vape shop, and you are now in the system.
I wonder about international though. If you're getting stuff from UK, China, etc... Are you going in a database?
Looks to me the sum of it is that soon it's going to be you get whatever vape stuff big tobacco offers at your local vape shop, and you are now in the system.
I wonder about international though. If you're getting stuff from UK, China, etc... Are you going in a database?
USPS to Publish Proposed Rule Implementing VapeMail Ban on Friday 2/19/21
Public Inspection: Treatment of E-Cigarettes in the Mail
Public Inspection: Treatment of E-Cigarettes in the Mail
A notable exception in the language of the tobacco mailing standards they will be using-
DMM Revision: Treatment of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco as Nonmailable Matter
As bad as these new restrictions will be, at least we can legally mail products among ourselves in limited quantities. Perhaps we as vapers can influence the weight limitation during the comment period, as I believe it was based on the weight of a carton of cigarettes and they seem open to a different application when it comes to ENDS products.
As I read the document further on it looked like they couldnt figure out how to make that exception work for ENDS and wanted to remove that exception entirely for ENDS. So as I see it even that small window would be shut for us.
Below are weights of 2 small radios and radio kits complete with retail packaging and all included accessories & docs as is from factory.
Swag 2/NRG PE kit - 10oz.
Swag 2 mod - 6.5oz.
Pico 75W/Melo 3 Mini kit - 9.8 oz.
Pico 75W mod - 8 oz.
The Swag 2 is a plastic radio. After packing material both kits would be over the 10oz limit.
Swag 2/NRG PE kit - 10oz.
Swag 2 mod - 6.5oz.
Pico 75W/Melo 3 Mini kit - 9.8 oz.
Pico 75W mod - 8 oz.
The Swag 2 is a plastic radio. After packing material both kits would be over the 10oz limit.
Soooo stop buying online this month? I feel like retailers would only start reporting new sales beginning in March per this new requirement. To me it's doubtful retailers will have to go back and gather up older sales and report them or would bother to do so considering how troublesome/burden reporting going forward will be and for what like a month until no more shipping period?! Ridiculous
What is overwhelming disturbing to me how many shops will be forced out of business ...and they will be... but anyone who vapes will only be able to buy from local soon to be nonexistent shops?!! Because if you shop in person across state lines they have to report you, I won't be. Vape shops local to me have already become few and far inbetween with all that has been going on the last several years and we are not a small or rural city... The harder the government makes it to vape the less people will bother. The stats already show a sharp decline in vaping over the past 2 years and an increase in smoking. I fully expect to see those numbers soar in both directions going forward.
I understand the argument that some people have limited or no access to local vape shops. However, if online vape stores will be a thing of the past, that means there will be a higher demand for local vape shops. Therefore new ones will pop up.
However this may not happen on a wide scale before we see how the PMTAs pan out. Would be a big risk to go in business right now not knowing what's going to happen in September.
However this may not happen on a wide scale before we see how the PMTAs pan out. Would be a big risk to go in business right now not knowing what's going to happen in September.
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