I was.....around 1981, and it was (sm)

             Revenue Department Mailing Letters to 4,329 People



    HARRISBURG, Pa., April 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvanians who

purchased cigarettes over the Internet, or from out-of-state mail order

companies, will soon receive a letter from the PA Department of Revenue

asking them to pay state taxes on the purchases.

    Under the federal Jenkins Act, vendors that ship cigarettes into

another state are required to release information about the purchases to

state taxing authorities.

    "Unfortunately, many Web sites falsely advertise that cigarettes can be

purchased tax-free," said acting Secretary of Revenue Thomas W. Wolf. "In

fact, in Pennsylvania and most other states, people who purchase cigarettes

from another state are required to pay cigarette taxes to their home state.

    "The Internet is a great resource, but when people use it to avoid

paying taxes, Pennsylvania taxpayers suffer and our retailers are placed at

a competitive disadvantage."

    The Revenue Department today mailed cigarette tax forms and letters

explaining Pennsylvania's cigarette tax law to 4,329 people who purchased

at least 100 cartons of cigarettes from out-of-state sources since January

2005.

    The Department estimates that the commonwealth is owed about $9.3

million in cigarette taxes and another $1.1 million in sales and use taxes

from these purchases. These individuals purchased a total of 694,126

cartons of cigarettes; the average number of cartons purchased was 160. If

recipients of the letters respond by the due date listed, the Department

will waive late- payment penalties. Deferred payment plans are available

for those who cannot afford to pay the taxes they owe at one time.

    The state Revenue Department has been receiving information on

cigarette purchases from a number of Web sites nationwide. At least 13

other states, including neighboring New Jersey, Ohio and New York, have

also been using the federal information to collect cigarettes taxes.

    All cigarettes sold legally in Pennsylvania are marked with a

Pennsylvania cigarette tax stamp on the bottom of the pack to show that the

appropriate tax has been paid. The cigarette tax is imposed on the ultimate

consumer, but licensed cigarette stamping agents remit the tax, currently

$1.35 per pack of 20 cigarettes, to the commonwealth.

    Possessing or selling untaxed cigarettes in Pennsylvania is illegal. By

law, Pennsylvanians may possess no more than one carton of out-of-state

cigarettes (not bearing a genuine Pennsylvania cigarette tax stamp on the

bottom of the pack). However, the person who possesses the cigarettes is

still responsible for paying the appropriate cigarette and use taxes to the

state Revenue Department on a Consumer Cigarette Excise Tax Return

(REV-791). Cigarette purchases from Native American reservations are also

subject to Pennsylvania taxes.

    Cigarette tax revenue helps fund the Children's Health Insurance

Program, or CHIP, which provides quality health insurance for children of

working families, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Fund for

farmland preservation and the Health Care Provider Retention Account that

helps reduce medical malpractice insurance costs.

    CONTACT: Steve Kniley

              Pennsylvania Department of Revenue

              +1-717-787-6960