I met with friends last night, and at some point one of them mentioned drug stamps. We all stared for a while, and then continued to stare when he explained that some states impose a tax on the sales of illegal drugs.
- "But how can people pay a tax on something that's not legal to sell or buy?"
- "I know, I know," he replied calmly, "but there's still a tax."
Well, out came Lori's iPhone, and there seemed to be some supporting evidence for this crazy notion. We couldn't quite figure it out, but it seemed like this drug tax actually existed.
Well, Samir is a serious guy. A few minutes ago he sent me this link to the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Notice that, when purchasing stamps to prove that You paid tax on your illegal drugs, personal checks are not an acceptable method of payment.
Cash is good, though.
Unbelievable.
2 comments:
I remember how shocked I felt the first time I learned this.
If I recall correctly, the most popular was paying a tax on things like home-brewed liquor/ moonshine.
Amazing though, right?
Actually this makes perfect sense--it means that they can get money from drug dealers when they catch them. You could look at it as a form of "cost recovery" for all of the enforcement.
From the website:
Criminal Penalties:
•Failure to pay the drug tax is a felony punishable of up to five years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Civil Penalties:
•Failing to affix tax stamps to illegal drugs may result in the issuance of a jeopardy tax assessment and tax warrant by the Department of Revenue against the drug dealer based upon the amount of the drugs seized pursuant to K.S.A. 79-5205 and K.S.A. 79-3229. The fact that the assessment is a "jeopardy assessment" allows for the initiation of collection activities immediately. Execution of the tax warrant may involve the seizing and selling of the drug dealer's property to satisfy the drug tax liability. In other words, the drug dealer subjects his/her property to possible seizure by failing to purchase the necessary drug tax stamps. In addition, the tax warrant, once filed by the clerk of the district court, serves as a lien against the drug taxpayer's real estate. This prevents the drug dealer from selling his/her real estate without first satisfying the drug tax liability. Laws exempting personal property from seizure do not apply to seizure pursuant to drug tax warrants.
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