Tennessee to tax illegal drugs
Here's a current update from the Tennessee government.
Okay, so on the surface it's just goofy. "You can't have this! But you do anyway, so you have to pay us." Hahaha. But underneath that surreal first impression is yet more erosion of everyone's rights.
The tax doesn't require a conviction to be assessed, and being found innocent of any charges doesn't remove a person's tax "liability". Have I mentioned double jeopardy? And, of course, the money goes almost entirely back to the cops who found something allegedly illegal in the first place. If you don't see the corruption just waiting to take over there, you're even more naive than I am.
I am curious about the potential parallels between this law and the tax situation created by the 86 ban and the NFA. Possibly some arguments used against this wacky tax could be used against the NFA?
Here's a current update from the Tennessee government.
Drug peddlers will be required to pay state excise taxes on illegal substances — from marijuana to moonshine, from cocaine to the often illegally obtained prescription painkiller OxyContin — under a new law that goes into effect Saturday.
The new tax would be collected in two ways:
• Drug dealers can go to any of the state revenue offices within 48 hours of coming into possession of unauthorized substances. They pay the tax and get a ''stamp'' to put on the drugs showing they have paid up. They would not be required to give their name, address, Social Security number or other identifying information. State tax collectors would be constrained by taxpayer privacy laws from reporting them to police. Still, state officials say voluntary payment is unlikely to happen often.
• The most probable way the tax will be collected is when police make drug busts. Law enforcement agencies are required to call tax officials within 48 hours detailing the drugs found.
Tax collectors then assess the tax on the drug suspects, as well as additional fines for not paying the tax in the first place. If the suspects cannot make immediate payment, the state seizes and sells any assets, such as cars, homes and personal belongings, to pay off the liability.
Paying the tax does not immunize a drug dealer from criminal prosecution, nor does nonpayment result in harsher jail sentences or fines, other than a tax penalty. Typical tax penalties are 5% of the unpaid tax liability.
''We consider this a revenue source for law enforcement's fight against narcotics and other illegal substances,'' said Al Laney, Tennessee's director of tax enforcement.
Three-fourths of the tax money collected will go to the law enforcement agency that initiated the arrest, and one-fourth will go to the state's general fund.
Okay, so on the surface it's just goofy. "You can't have this! But you do anyway, so you have to pay us." Hahaha. But underneath that surreal first impression is yet more erosion of everyone's rights.
The tax doesn't require a conviction to be assessed, and being found innocent of any charges doesn't remove a person's tax "liability". Have I mentioned double jeopardy? And, of course, the money goes almost entirely back to the cops who found something allegedly illegal in the first place. If you don't see the corruption just waiting to take over there, you're even more naive than I am.
I am curious about the potential parallels between this law and the tax situation created by the 86 ban and the NFA. Possibly some arguments used against this wacky tax could be used against the NFA?