Jump to full article: Associated Press (AP), 2010-02-08
Author: Gary D. Robertson
Intro: "The cigarette tax evasion stampede is out of control," said Jim Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores. More than half of cigarettes purchased in his state are bought without paying state or local taxes, largely because of out-of-state smuggling and Internet sales.
Catching people with North Carolina contraband is difficult because it's one of three states that don't require tax stamps affixed on every pack being sold.
Interest in restoring the stamps after a 16-year hiatus has been revived as a way to deter smuggling from North Carolina -- and in an ironic change -- into North Carolina. The state now may be the target for cheaper cigarettes from South Carolina, which has a 7-cent-per pack tax and doesn't use stamps. North Carolina's 45-cent tax has grown nine fold since 2005, creating a cross-border difference of $3.80 per carton.
"We've only been at a tax disadvantage since the tax went up in the past couple of years," said Gary Harris with the North Carolina Petroleum and Convenience Marketers Association.
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