Anyone Have experience with NJ abatement of penalties

[mrichman333]

I got a call from a woman I do tax returns for. She got 2 Notices of Assessment from NJ for cigarette tax for the years 2006-2009. She was buying cigarettes out of state through the mail and NJ caught up with her. The amounts are attached they total $5,428.01

I have never dealt with this type of issue. Any suggestions?

[Cathy]

Don't "fret none" because if you were just notified about this situation, after researching (googling NJ Excise Tax on Cigarettes and the NJ State Dept of Rev), NJ had a Tax Amnesty program that ended on 11-01-13 that could have saved her big bucks with the penalties.

Just tell her your magic wand is in the shop being repaired and to pay her bill if she did indeed buy the cigarettes that NJ is saying she did!

And call her before Thanksgiving Day so you can let that big black cloud sit where it belongs for the holidays......over her head....not yours!!!!!!!!

Take care,

Cathy

PS. I'm a smoker also and still have no sympathy for her! ;)

[Mr. Pencil]

She was buying cigarettes out of state through the mail and NJ caught up with her. The amounts are attached they total $5,428.01

I would guess the agency isn't open to abatement since she didn't accept their amnesty. Ordering and receiving by mail is such a deliberate act I can't imagine what she could claim for reasonable cause. But the penalty is only a few hundred dollars anyway. probably less than the cost of your representation. The rest of the bill is just what she would have paid buying smokes locally anyway (plus interest). So she gambled on saving $3000 but lost $300.

[Guest Taxed]

A few of my smoker friends tell me that they used to go to an Indian reservation and buy their yearly supply of smokes there tax free. Then we heard that the MA state troopers were watching the car registrations and would give that info to the MA DOR for repeat offenders.