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Article: State goes after smokers who buy cigs on Web.
- Article from:
- The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA)
- Article date:
- August 1, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Spokesman-Review. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Richard Roesler
Aug. 1--OLYMPIA -- Grady Russell thought he'd found a great bargain.
A smoker for more than six decades, the retired Ephrata, Wash., carpenter found an Internet company two years ago that sold cigarettes -- taxed at the ultra-low Kentucky rate -- for slightly more than $1 a pack. Delighted with the savings, Russell started placing orders, 10 cartons at a time.
Then, last year, he got a letter in the mail. The state Department of Revenue told him he owed Washington taxes on all those cigarettes.
"I hate it," Russell said. But he paid up, dutifully calculating the number of shipments and sending in about $160 in ...