Connecticut is on the brink of selling its 200th drug tax stamp – those small stickers that illegal drug dealers need to stay in the good graces of state tax officials, reports the Hartford Courant. Since the state passed the “grass tax” act, it has taken 15 years to sell the first 199, including one last week to the Courant. Of those, all but two have been of the $10 marijuana stamps. The state has sold one $200 stamp and another for $500. As far as anyone knows, none has been sold to drug dealers. State officials assume that most of the stamps have gone to collectors and curiosity seekers.
The minimum tax stamp is $10. There’s also a $500 marijuana stamp. If you’re dealing in cocaine or heroin, things can get costly – the minimum “controlled substance” stamp goes for $200. And for the big-time dealer, there’s the $10,000 stamp. (No one has ever bought it.) The process is anonymous, so dealers needn’t worry about self-incrimination. More than 20 states sell drug stamps. Eric Jackson of the American Revenue Association says drug stamps are of interest to some stamp collectors. “Well, it’s a curious tax – it’s a tax on something that’s illegal to possess,” says Jackson. “It’s kind of convoluted in some ways.”
Link: http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-pottax.artjul07,0,1727063.story?coll=hc-headlines-home