Collection of ‘crack tax’ up in 2006
`Tennessee collected almost $1.8 million in taxes on cocaine, crack, moonshine and other “unauthorized substances” in 2006, the second year the tax was in effect.
The $1,773,535 collected last year marked a 3.4 percent increase from 2005.
Drug dealers, moonshiners and other purveyors of controlled and illicit substances are supposed to purchase tax stamps under the 2-year-old law, the state Department of Revenue said in a release.
The tax, dubbed the “crack tax” when enacted, has come under attack from attorneys across the state because it is assessed against the accused before their guilt or innocence was decided.
Sellers don’t have to provide any identifying information in order to get the tax stamp.’
