Letter from the state...

[sauzatime]

So I got a letter from the state the other day saying:

"Our records indicate that you purchased other tobacco products from an out of state company that did not pay the tobacco tax & fees. Under Minnesota law (M.S.S. 297F.09), if you buy untaxed tobacco products outside Minnesota through mail order or the internet, you must pay tobacco tax and tobacco health impact fee.

Enclosed is a blank consumer tobacco tax return (CT 303) with instruction sheet for you to calculate the tobacco tax on all out of state purchases. Each month you purchase tobacco from an out of state company, you are required to complete the (CT303) form by the 18th the following month. Please refer to our instruction sheet for calculating the taxes due. Failure to send a tax return when required may result in the assessment of penalty and interest. You may download forms from our website: (website)

If you have any questions concerning this letter, or if you need additional information, you may call the Special Taxes general number (number)."

So I have several questions about this letter (and complaints, but spare you those). But the most perplexing part of this letter to me is that there is no purchases or quantity listed anywhere. I can only assume that either a business or credit card disclosed the info to the state, but how much am I supposed to pay? The only thing the form tells me is how to fill out the form, and the first line of the form is "Total cost of tobacco purchased: ". So, yeah... I have no idea what my total cost of tobacco purchased is. Wish I knew what their "records indicate"...

Anybody got suggestions or had this kind of letter sent to them?

 

[flathead59]

Damned if I know. Seems to me if they had specific numbers they would bill you.

Mark

 

[Angry Bill]

Are you a CRA member, I would hit them up.

 

[BagfullofPings]

Time to find a new credit card company.

 

[blooz4u]

Wow... Not sure on this one man... I'd put $1 and mail them 8.25 cents ?

 

[terrantheman]

Are you a CRA member, I would hit them up.

What he said for sure! That's f'n crazy though! NOTE TO SELF: I'm not living in MN EVER!

 

[Proud Bear]

I agree with Bill- give the CRA a call, see what they say about where you stand. If you're not a member, they could use the help.

I don't see a way to get out of paying something, but I agree that the letter is pretty cryptic about what they know. Do you consolidate your cigar purchases on to one credit card? (I certainly don't).

Any way you slice it- if the government got the information from your credit card company OR the retailer(s), the government is getting a bit too big for its britches.

In the words of John Malkovitch- "Pay dat man hees mun-ny"

Bear

 

[njstone]

That blows...who ratted you out? Your credit card company? I'm POSITIVE they couldn't give over specific confidential information, though...at most the number of incidents (purchases).

 

[CWS]

Credit card companies do not give up data. SHipping companies give up data. If you are buying from a certain NY company then UPS is the culprit. Think about it. WHo get all your info address etc...

 

[Benzopyrene]

It could be a scam. Just a suggestion. May be a dumb one, but you never know. The fact that there is no amount could mean they don't know so you could probably ignore it and claim it was a cutter and not cigars or something of that nature

 

[Angry Bill]

I like Luke's idea.

 

[bballbaby]

It could be a scam. Just a suggestion. May be a dumb one, but you never know. The fact that there is no amount could mean they don't know so you could probably ignore it and claim it was a cutter and not cigars or something of that nature

i might have to agree with that.

think about it. the state supposedly knows you owe them taxes, so if thye know thatmuch, then no doubt they know how much you owe them.

i failed to pay a small amoutn of state taxes one time and the state knew exactly how much i owed them.

is there a phone number to call? most things like that say if you have questions, call. if no number, then i'd ignore it and see what hapens. worst they will do is send you a second notice and you can say you never got hte first notice, since it didn't come in by certified mail, which is how my letter from the state came...that way they knew for fact that i got the notice.

 

[Asher]

If you are buying from a certain NY company then UPS is the culprit. Think about it. WHo get all your info address etc...

There have also been rumors that everyone's least favorite Florida-based vendor gives out this information willingly. I haven't been able to verify this with any first-hand accounts, though.

 

[Proud Bear]

It could be a scam. Just a suggestion. May be a dumb one, but you never know. The fact that there is no amount could mean they don't know so you could probably ignore it and claim it was a cutter and not cigars or something of that nature

Bingo.

Give the state a call- see what they say about the letter.

Bear

 

[Jetexas]

Big f-ing brother is watching! So much for privacy....:argh:

 

[gibbleguts]

Just wait it can still get worse. In Canada it is illegal to ship tobacco across province lines. We are ok to ship out of country but not within. Any tobacco shipped into the country is nailed with full tobacco tax. My other thoughts are they intentionally leave it vague. They know what they think you owe but hope you will admit to much more.
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[Terrasco]

Chuck and Asher are correct. The state knows you have made some internet purchases but they only have data on a select few so they are hoping that you self report more.

I would suggest contacting CRA, also. This nonsense has got to stop. This used to be a free country. This is the kind of thing that made our forefathers mad with Britain.

 

[joshua]

I got a letter from the state of NJ from New Havana purchases I made. I haven't paid it yet, but they had the specific amounts.

 

[Panicbound]

Chuck and Asher are correct. The state knows you have made some internet purchases but they only have data on a select few so they are hoping that you self report more.

I would suggest contacting CRA, also. This nonsense has got to stop. This used to be a free country. This is the kind of thing that made our forefathers mad with Britain.

:1st:

 

[Donk]

Hey bro, my father got a letter stating the same thing a few years back. He paid the amount thinking he was doing the lawful thing, just to find out that the state can't force you to pay the tax, or withold it from your returns. Honestly bro, you don't have to pay the state sales tax! My father found out it is basiclly a state fishing attempt. Most people will pay it because they don't know any better.