Illegal drugs may be taxed
By Tom Precious - NEWS ALBANY BUREAU
Updated: 01/23/08 6:38 AM
ALBANY — Drug dealers beware: Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer wants your help in balancing the state budget.
The governor proposed Tuesday that drug dealers be required to affix a state tax stamp on illegal drugs they sell — $3.50 per gram on marijuana and $200 per gram on drugs like heroin. He expects it to bring the state $13 million in revenue this year.
There wasn’t a whole lot of explanation about the idea, except a brief reference buried in one of the pieces of legislation accompanying the thousands of pages of budget documents released Tuesday. It says it will improve enforcement and tracking of illegal drug sales.
It requires that dealers obtain tax stamps before selling illegal drugs.
Secrecy provisions in the bill generally prohibit using information obtained from drug dealers in any crimninal prosecution, unless it is obtained independently. The information could be used, however, in a criminal or civil proceeding involving taxes.
The administration, following the lead of 29 other states with similar laws, contends it also can obtain revenues when illegal drugs are confiscated and dealers are forced to pay taxes if they do not have stamps on the drugs.
Might as well legalize some shit and make a whole lot more money off it. imo
The NY Sun article makes a little more sense though:
One proposal would allow the state to tax illegal drugs that are confiscated by police. Anyone caught in possession of marijuana would be taxed $3.50 a gram, and other illegal drugs would be taxed at $200 a gram. A budget official said more than 20 states have similar rules in place.
Although nearly half of all US states have drug tax stamp laws on the books, few citizens observe them. Most individuals are unaware that such laws exist in their state; others fear that complying with it will incriminate their behavior. Because of this widespread noncompliance, drug tax stamps – unlike so-called “sin taxes” on alcohol or tobacco – do not collect state tax revenue at the customer’s “point of purchase.” Rather, the legislative intent of drug tax laws is to impose an additional penalty – tax evasion – upon drug offenders after they are arrested and criminally charged with a drug violation
I would like to see the purchase anonymous so that when caught they can show they’ve paid something because they’ll have stamps. no reason drug dealers shouldn’t help pay to fix our highways, build parks etc…
It makes no sense until someone gets arrested for selling drugs and is also held liable for money that they didn’t pay the state… I think its fucking brilliant.
FED’s do that. I heard that they caught a couple people that were selling and one person couldn’t prove the money in his bank account was legal so after they took the money they made him pay taxes on the money they took from him. $20 on every hundred. He had $60,000 in the bank. The bank acount was only open for two months.
