Help Me Hank: Help Me Hank! Costly cigarettes

"No Smoking" is a sign you see a lot these days.
 
Margaret Darling, former smoker
"We were becoming public enemy number one. You can't smoke anywhere."
 
Margaret and her husband, longtime smokers, just last year finally kicked the habit.
 
Margaret Darling, former smoker
"We were both having trouble breathing."
 
But back in her smoking days she ordered cigarettes over the phone from an online company. She thought they were a good deal because they were tax-free.
 
Margaret Darling, former smoker
"I could call and still get them cheap."
 
As non-smokers, they figured they were done with cigarettes forever, until this notice of assessment from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue arrived. It said she owed more than 4-thousand dollars to the state.
 
Margaret Darling, former smoker
"I thought they were saying that I made a mistake on my taxes."
 
But Margaret took a closer look. She was being charged tax for packs of cigarettes she had bought over the phone since 2002. Four years of purchases!
 
Margaret Darling, former smoker
"My first thought was I need a cigarette."
 
Instead of reaching for a pack, Margaret did something else.
 
Margaret Darling, former smoker
"Contacted you, Help Me Hank."
 
Margaret may have been surprised, but we weren't. State law requires every pack of cigarettes sold in Massachusetts to include payment of the state's cigarette tax. In 2002 the Massachusetts legislature instructed the DOR to "aggressively" crack down on smokers who weren't paying it.
 
Commissioner Henry Dormitzer, Massachusetts Dept. of Revenue
"The goal is to collect taxes on every pack of cigarettes sold."
 
So if you're getting cigarettes online or over the phone, and the packs don't have this Massachusetts tax stamp that means no one paid the tax, and you're breaking the law.
 
Commissioner Henry Dormitzer, Massachusetts Dept. of Revenue
"It's not even legal to own a pack of cigarettes in which the tax hasn't been paid."
 
So if your pack has no stamp, like Margaret's, it's your job to find Department of Revenue Form CT-11 on the web and submit it along with $15.10 for each carton you've bought. If not, the DOR will find you.  Out of state cigarette companies are required by federal law to report purchases.
 
Hank Phillippi Ryan, Investigative Reporter
"If someone doesn't pay it what will happen?"
 
Commissioner Henry Dormitzer, Massachusetts Dept. of Revenue
"We will send them a bill, and assess them and unfortunately for them not only will it be this tax due, but it will include penalties and interest."
 
So sorry Margaret, that's the state law, but now at least now you know what happened.
 
Margaret Darling, former smoker
"We're not alone I know we're not alone."
 
Hank Phillippi Ryan, Investigative Reporter
Since 2002 the DOR has sent 11,000 bills and collected close to 5 million dollars. And as the crackdown continues, they anticipate those numbers will go up.

(Copyright 2007 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)