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Oregon Online Cigarette Buyers Must Pay Taxes by Friday [05/19-5]
Excerpts from: Online cig buyers must pay taxes by Friday
Bend.com [05/18/05]
The Oregon Department of Revenue announced that smokers who bought untaxed cigarettes over the Internet in April must pay Oregon tax on the cigarettes by May 20 or face paying penalties and interest.
Three online cigarette retailers recently sent to the department the names of hundreds of people who bought untaxed cigarettes in April. Those Oregonians have until Friday to pay taxes on the cigarettes. If they do not pay by Friday, they must also pay penalty and interest. The current tax rate is .059 cents per cigarette, or $1.18 for a standard pack.
To pay the tax, visit www.oregonsmokes.com. Under the heading “Cigarette Tax: Internet/Mail Order” is a link to instructions and Form 514, “Oregon Cigarette Consumer’s Monthly Tax Reports.” Mail it to the address on the form with a check or money order. It must be postmarked by May 20 to avoid penalties and interest. You cannot submit the form electronically.
Under Oregon law, people who buy cigarettes online must pay the tax by the 20th of the month following the purchase. People who buy untaxed cigarettes and do not pay the tax
will receive a bill from the state. The bill will be for the taxes owed plus penalties and interest
“We know this is short notice but we unexpectedly received these invoices late
last week from the Internet companies. We want consumers to know they can pay the tax for purchases they made in April without being charged penalties and interest. However, the deadline is Friday,” said Eric Smith, tobacco program manager. “We think that we will begin to see more Internet companies comply with federal law.”The three Internet sellers gave the names to the state under a federal law called the Jenkins Act. The law requires online cigarette retailers to provide tax agencies with the names of people who bought cigarettes from them.
Smith estimates the state loses $7 million to $10 million a year in revenue to online cigarette sales. He said these invoices will help recover some of that loss.
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