Jump to full article: Providence (RI) Journal-Bulletin, 2009-05-22
Author: W. Zachary Malinowski Journal Staff Writer
Intro: Now, state taxation and law-enforcement officials are poised to do their part. They are cracking down on the illegal sale of out-of-state cigarettes to make sure that the state collects as much money as possible from smokers who now plunk down some $8.35 for a pack.
"We're working closer with the state police," said David M. Sullivan, state tax administrator. "It's been a constant problem, but with the increase in our cigarette tax," officials are aggressively going after them.
Sullivan and Donald W. Englert, chief revenue agent for the Division of Taxation, said an inspector and two part-time assistants from their office seize an estimated 20 to 30 cartons of cigarettes each month that don't have the Rhode Island excise tax stamp and are being sold illegally from one of the state's 1,200 licensed convenience stores or retail outlets.
The inspectors often work undercover or have a plainclothes state trooper make the buys.
A big problem has been the tax stamp.
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