My friend owes the State of Calif. $500 in taxes for internet purchases

She orders cigarettes from the Senecas in NY state and apparently they (and probably others) have sent the state a complete list of their customers and what they bought..

I ordered from them one time, so I have to research and figure out what I owe..:grr:

about a week ago we also got a tax form with everything blank except for the calculation procedure.

apparently the state KNOWS exactly how much everyone owes, but are making everyoone try and guess what they owe and of course it has to be sent to them before 10-25 or they will apply penalties..

According to the state, every time you buy something online, you are supposed to send the state board of equalization the state tax you would have paid if you bought it here..

It supposedy covers everything..not just tobacco, but I find it impossible to believe that every little Mom & Pop online place in the whole country is sending information to Calif..

I have ordered other stuff through Amazon, but it was shipped from all over the place and I have NO clue whether tax was charged or not, and I never have saved the information.. I guess I'll have to live dangerously and wait until they assess the "penalties".. Maybe then they will tell me what I owe then :eyes:

This will be how they attack internet purchases, folks.. If people are not saving money, they will stop buying stuff online..

from retired Vets who served in CA but weren't residents. It doesn't fly either.

a bill for taxes they said I owed from 1990 :wtf:

Even the Feds don't *require* you to keep records for more than 7 years. Needless to say I ignored that bill & haven't heard hide nor hair of them since.

Seneca's web site once proudly proclaimed that they didn't report their sales to any State agency. Then the State cracked down and the website was changed to include a section explaining that purchasers would be responsible for paying State taxes. I stopped buying from them at this point.

Google "CA cigarette tax" to come up with the numbers to fill out your forms.

can of tobacco - $10.00
box of 200 tubes - $2.00
========================
carton of cigs costs me $12.00

there are small machines which run about $4.00-$6.00

or you can go to the larger type models which feature a crank handle $35-$70 depending on where you buy it and the style - (we use this, easier and faster)

there are also electric ones, but they start around $350.00

check out this site for more info on rolling your own
http://www.ryomagazine.com/

for out-of-state business purchases that did not charge sales tax. They call it "Use Tax" and it's part of my monthly sales tax report.