Ohio Cigarette & Misc Tax Update

SALES AND USE TAX—Tax collection—Internet cigarette purchases.

The Ohio Tax Department is billing Internet purchasers for unpaid taxes on cigarette purchases made on-line between July 2007 and March 2008. The Department got its information on purchases sold to Ohio customers through the federal Jenkins Act that requires vendors who sell cigarettes across state lines to report those sales to the states in which the sales are made. Since Ohio law requires that all sales of cigarettes in the state be made “face-to-face,” cigarettes cannot legally be purchased via the Internet. The state sales tax rate is 5.5%, plus additional county and transit authority “piggyback” sales taxes that add between 0.5 and 2.25 percentage points, depending on the location. ( Smokers Billed for Cigarette and Sales Taxes on Internet Purchases, 05/05/2008 .)

CIGARETTE, ALCOHOL & MISCELLANEOUS TAXES—Tax collection—Internet cigarette purchases.

The Ohio Tax Department is billing Internet purchasers for unpaid taxes on cigarette purchases made online between July 2007 and March 2008. The Department got its information on purchases sold to Ohio customers through the federal Jenkins Act that requires vendors who sell cigarettes across state lines to report those sales to the states in which the sales are made. Since Ohio law requires that all sales of cigarettes in the state be made “face-to-face,” cigarettes cannot legally be purchased via the Internet. The current state excise tax on a pack of cigarettes is $1.25. There is an additional tax of 34.5¢ per pack in Cuyahoga County. ( Smokers Billed for Cigarette and Sales Taxes on Internet Purchases, 05/05/2008 .)

 

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