Angry New Yorker

Semi-Daily Rants from New York City's Angry Man

"As I know more of mankind I expect less of them, and am ready now to call a man a good man, upon easier terms than I was formerly." - Dr. Samuel Johnson, Boswell, Life of Johnson, Sept. 1783

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Friday, January 14, 2005
 
According to Bloomberg, Online Buyers Are "cheating" New York City Out of Tax Money?

Bloomberg proves again that he's gone over to the dark side. Our mayor's always been overly fond of stating "it's the lore [law]" this and "the lore [law] requires me" to do that, giving the impression, false as it is, that the law is immutable, and fixed and can't be either challenged or modified. Err... that's not the way it works in a representative republic, Mr. Mayor.

But now Bloomberg & Co. have begun acting like cartoon bullies on the Simpson's who hold Milhouse and Bart up in the air by their ankles and shake to see what falls out. Having already gone after all the low-hanging tax fruit the City's now essentially digging under the couch cushions and shaking down anyone they can, particularly now people who buy things online to take advantage of lower tax rates in other.

Hey, Mayor, how's this for a novel idea: spend within your means.

See NY1.com
City Seeks Back Taxes For Cigarettes Sold Online
JANUARY 13TH, 2005

The city is ordering smokers who bought cigarettes over the Internet to pay back taxes.
The city's Finance Department has mailed a letter to some 2,300 city residents whose names were obtained in a court ruling against a website that sold the cigarettes.

* * *
Companies that ship orders out of state do not collect sales taxes, but technically customers are still responsible for paying the tax in their home state when they file their returns.

The letters warned the smokers that they would be penalized up $100 for each carton purchased online if they failed to pay the taxes.

* * *
In 2002, New York City increased the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 8 cents to $1.50. Combined with a similar state tax increase, the average price of a pack jumped to $7.50, leading many New Yorkers to buy from the Internet or on Indian reservations to avoid taxes.

posted by anonymous at 9:04 AM

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