Et Tu, FL
Posted by Prof | Filed under Overstepping
In a bid not be outdone by the hirelings in DC, my own Florida Senate has decided to raise taxes on tobacco also. So what, big deal? I roll my own, I’m going to start growing my own, and will not pay any voluntary tax I can wiggle around. I might even occasionally buy from the Seminoles since they are not subject to the tax.
But you see, that last one is the kicker. It seems a new amendment was added to the bill that will raise the cigarette tax. This would make possession of tax free smokes by anyone who wasn’t a Seminole or on Seminole land a first-class misdemeanor punishable by a minimum $1,000 fine. I’d really like to be first one arrested for that.
First off, this bill is a violation of the Florida Constitution because it does not treat all of the people who live in the state equally under the law. It is a violation on the Federal level as well because it could be interpreted as an infringement of commerce for the Seminole tribe, which violates a TREATY WITH A SOVEREIGN NATION! Yet oddly enough, it seems to be sailing through committee anyway. Lessons learned from the Federal Government, perhaps?
One other thing, since Wyoh is a card carrying member of a different tribe, one that also has the right to sell tax-free, I would really like for some pissant DA to try to prove that any smokes in question belonged to me rather than her.
The next question I have about this is how enforceable is this, really? Are they going to drive around like old timey revenooers and if they see anyone smoking, stop them and demand to see the tax stamp? Is that not an unreasonable search? Or are they going to post a cop full time outside the rez with a high powered telescope to see who is coming out of the Seminole smoke shops, which would, in effect, be espionage on a foreign nation by a state, not the feds. I’m pretty sure that constitutes a violation of federal law. Or even better, do ‘random traffic stops’ on the roads leading off of Seminole property, again impinging upon the Seminole’s abilty to carry out commerce as well as again being a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution.
Come on, hirelings, stop this nonsense. You elected civil servants of the State Senate are blatantly trying to overstep your power and you know it. The only possible reason I can see for you to even propose this amendment is the hope that the entire law will be found unconstitutional and you can then go to Fed and say “gee we tried, but the courts threw it out; now give us more money.”
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April 8th, 2009
[...] Bring on the smoke Gestapo… I am Simon Jester » Blog Archive » Et Tu, FL. [...]
April 8th, 2009
Good luck with that one…typically the ‘tax stamp’ is on the cellophane wrapper. Discard that and it becomes just another pack of smokes, source unknown.
Then again, they may dream up something else…like strip searches.
God forbid any undiscovered tax revenue slip past them.
April 9th, 2009
Singaporean solution: all legal smokes have a tax stamp on each cigarette.
April 12th, 2009
Prof, here in (*ugh*) Massachusetts, “unrolled” tobacco increased in price by an astronomical rate. “Top” tobacco was selling at $1.98 (with tax) – it abruptly went to $4.19 (with tax). Overnight.
Welcome to Obama’s “Scapegoatland…”