The United States has many enemies.
Osama Bin Laden, number one terrorist enemy. Edward Eugen Harper, number one FBI Most Wanted. Joaquin Guzman, number one most wanted Mexican drug lord. Then there are the neo-Nazis, eco-terrorists, radicals of varying faiths and beliefs, and Fran Dalton, 80, who bought cigarettes online.
Wait, what?
Yes, you read correctly. An octogenarian who lives in a tiny, subsidized apartment, and survives on $600 per month, has incurred the wrath of the government.
It seems that Ms. Dalton´s only joy in life is smoking.
"It is my one and only pleasure," she told the Boston Globe, adding, "I don't have much time left in this world."
Of course, as even non-smokers know, lighting up is not a cheap habit these days. Cartons of cigarettes can now run almost $100. For someone surviving off of $600 per month, this is an unaffordable expense.
So, like any other red-blooded American, Ms. Dalton sought to find her own way. She found that way in the form of an online service offered by a Native American tribe in New York. Elated, she jumped at the chance to purchase an entire carton of cigarettes for the insanely low price of $14.89. In fact, she bought five.
Unbeknownst to Ms. Dalton, the Seneca tribe that operates the website does not have to pay taxes on their sales. This fact is made known to their customers by way of amazingly small print at the very bottom of their contract. It states that the purchaser is responsible for all taxes and fees. For Ms. Dalton, that amounted to $91.58 in cold, hard cash, which the Massachusetts Department of Revenue is now demanding.
Naturally, as anyone would when facing the prospect of being completely ripped, Ms. Dalton is determined not to pay.
"I don't have much money, but it's really not about the money. It's about the principle," she told the Globe. "I had no idea I was being taxed. And . . . the tax amount is outrageous."
How often have we heard a politician stumble through a line such as: “We can no longer force our elderly to choose between medicine and groceries.” Granted, cigarettes are the furthest thing from medicine that one can buy, aside from cocaine and heroin, but the principle remains, as Ms. Dalton stated.
So the state government is out doing its job, collecting unpaid sales taxes on items purchased out of state. What's puzzling is that they ever got to Ms. Dalton's level in their collection efforts. Either someone at the Mass. Department of Revenue is doing his or her job REALLY well, or the state is desperate for every last $91 it can find.
The whole affair would be easier to look past if the Massachusetts legislature didn't just vote themselves a pay raise. Or for that matter, if the Big Dig hadn't been billions over budget.
But it's hard to side with the Tax Man when he's taking a 1/6 of an elderly lady's monthly income for a hidden cigarette tax.
How about going after the big cheats, and letting Ms. Dalton light up in peace.
Ms. Dalton's brand
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