State Tax Stamps

I was reading an article about taxes on illegal substances and other items that states issue taxes on. I couldnt believe states tax people who sell illegal items, usually after they are caught. Anyone have any of these kinds of stamps???



More than a half-dozen states have a tax on narcotics and other controlled substances. Theoretically, a drug dealer in North Carolina can go to the state revenue office and get a tax stamp for $50 per gram for cocaine over 7 grams (the first 6 grams are tax-free). A moonshiner could get a stamp for $1.28 per gallon of mash.

Then the dealer or the moonshiner can walk away - the law prohibits snitching on anyone who buys the stamps - with proof he paid his debt to the tax department.

The idea is that a peddler, even one who sells illegal substances, should pay taxes. But in reality the revenue is only collected after arrests, when dealers are slapped with a tax bill.

"The only folks we have buying those stamps are stamp collectors," said Kim Brooks, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Revenue.


Here is the title, date, and who issued the story. Sorry the link I had didn't work.

New York could join other states in proposed illegal drug tax
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: Nation

LeAnn

These stamps have been around for a while, I think since the eighties. I have never bought any. The idea is ridiculous, that drug dealers will come in to buy stamps for their product to ensure that they comply with the tax laws. These stamps are made solely for collectors. You can find issues from several states on ebay. For example, here is a Nebraska marijuana tax stamp on http://cgi.ebay.com/NEBRASKA-MARIJU...MP_W0QQitemZ320212618419QQihZ011QQcategoryZ690QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

A couple of years ago I saw a program on the History Channel that showed how tax laws were used to circumvent the Constitution when substances like marijuana that the government wanted to ban were involved.

Remember, it took a Constitutional amendment to ban alcohol. I always wondered why it did not take a constitutional amendment to ban marijuana and other drugs. It's because congress found a way around it. If my memory serves me correctly, someone could apply to the federal government to pay the tax to sell such drugs as they would, say, for tobacco, but the application would be denied. And since they can't sell these substances without paying the tax it's a Catch 22 situation.

These state tax stamps that take on the same issue from another angle appear to be little more than additional fines for those caught dealing in them.