United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2003-05-01 monographic deposited born digital 18 p. GA 1.13:GAO-03-714T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-714T P0b002ee180397161 f:d03714t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-714T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-714T GAO-03-714T Internet Investigations by federal agencies Law enforcement Sales taxes State taxes Tobacco industry Noncompliance Interstate commerce Testimony A06787

The Jenkins Act requires any person who sells and ships cigarettes across a state line to a buyer, other than a licensed distributor, to report the sale to the buyer's state tobacco tax administrator. The act establishes misdemeanor penalties for violating the act. Compliance with this federal law by cigarette sellers enables states to collect cigarette excise taxes from consumers. However, some state and federal officials are concerned that as Internet cigarette sales continue to grow, particularly as states' cigarette taxes increase, so will the amount of lost state tax revenue due to noncompliance with the Jenkins Act. One research firm estimated that Internet tobacco sales in the United States will exceed $5 billion in 2005 and that the states will lose about $1.4 billion in tax revenue from these sales. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-714T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-714T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-714T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-714T.pdf GAO-03-714T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-714T Testimony GAO-03-714T; Internet Cigarette Sales: Limited Compliance and Enforcement of the Jenkins Act Result in Loss of State Tax Revenue; Internet Investigations by federal agencies Law enforcement Sales taxes State taxes Tobacco industry Noncompliance Interstate commerce Title 18 Section 2341 Title 18 Section 2342 18 U.S.C. 2341 18 U.S.C. 2342 Public Law 105-277