Press Release: Texas to begin Collecting Taxes on Alcohol at Seaports

how can a state tax you on purchases made outside of the state?

It doesn't make sense.

Oops.....

 

 

 

 

feed the pig

Because you are bringing the product into the state.

I left my tin foil hat at home and have no time for the paranoid anti govt tea party types. So I'll just be over here and that sound you hear is me (and folks like me) laughing as you folks get all torqued up over this. :)

 

 

Sent using a small piece of fruit.

Not torqued, but I'm one of those laughing at you because of your incredibly stupid remarks. By the way, I drove a truck over the road for 27 years; who did you drive for, JB Hunt?

Glad I don't cruise from Texas. Itineraries from Texas are boring anyway. They only do western carib.

Ok everyone chill out and look at this link for how much the taxes are. The taxes are $3.75 for a liter of alcohol. It's never good when something gets more expensive' date=' but it will still probably be cheaper than getting it at home. As for cigarettes, taxes are $15 per carton. I don't smoke so I have no idea if that is going to make a difference, but I would think that you would still be saving money over buying at home.[/quote']

 

Two weeks ago on the Glory (I know not a TX ship...) we encountered US Prices of liquor onboard and in Cozumel and Costa Maya. My mom commented to the shop keepers and they said, "yes, Miami prices are now here." Just for comparison Absolut Vodka was going for $23 US in those ports and onboard.

 

So I guess they are trying to prevent people purchasing it all over the place?

I agree with some of the others, it is not the amount of the tax but the bottle neck it could create. Customs has just gotten back into getting everyone off of the ship in a timely manner here recently and now we have to deal with the state! Like others will have to see how it flows but will most likely just not buy south of the border.

I guess I'll see how this works in 26 days... or rather 31, when I debark from the Triumph...

I don't smoke or buy -- so I won't worry about that... But I do enjoy bringing a bottle of spirits back... Hmmmm...

I guess, I'll figure in the added tax, to see if it's worth the "personal importation taxes on alcohol and cigarettes from passengers."

I imagine this will be challenged in court. Perhaps Texas may have the authority to tax its own residents for anything bought out of state that would be used by its residents within the state. However, I can't see where they have the legal jurisdiction to tax residents of other states who are merely passing through Texas (from the cruise port to the airport) on their way home. Passengers in transit would not normally be using the products in Texas. Also, there might be a question about taxing only certain products. Why not also tax jewelry, watches, electronics, clothing, perfumes, etc bought at the duty free shops on board or in the ports visited? Is this same law being applied to airline passengers arriving in or transiting Texas, or people entering Texas by car from other US states? Apparently they are collecting this tax on cars entering from Mexico. There are so many holes in this, I can't imagine it could stand up to a court challenge. Finally, is the cost of collecting this tax worth the revenue generated?

Nope....Is Key West and the Bahamas western carib?

Glad I don't cruise from Texas. Itineraries from Texas are boring anyway. They only do western carib.

I imagine this will be challenged in court. Perhaps Texas may have the authority to tax its own residents for anything bought out of state that would be used by its residents within the state. However, I can't see where they have the legal jurisdiction to tax residents of other states who are merely passing through Texas (from the cruise port to the airport) on their way home. Passengers in transit would not normally be using the products in Texas. Also, there might be a question about taxing only certain products. Why not also tax jewelry, watches, electronics, clothing, perfumes, etc bought at the duty free shops on board or in the ports visited? Is this same law being applied to airline passengers arriving in or transiting Texas, or people entering Texas by car from other US states? Apparently they are collecting this tax on cars entering from Mexico. There are so many holes in this, I can't imagine it could stand up to a court challenge. Finally, is the cost of collecting this tax worth the revenue generated?

You took the words right out of my brain!!! :D

My simple answer about this is: GREED! :mad:

Just got off magic. They are only taxing texas residents. After clearing customs there are people that ask you about if you bought liquor or tobacco and they are looking for those boxes of booze. We were given a letter on the ship that if you are not from texas then to state this and show ID and they would let you bypass the duty line. This line is right before you get outside. By the way I thought this was going to slow the process down but today was the fastest I was off the ship 15 minutes. Out of room at 7:30 in car at 7:45.

I wonder how Texas will catch you if you don't declare it.

Kind of hard to miss the people carrying the cardboard carriers of liquor off the ship. They would have to be blind to miss it.

When we debarked in Houston last month the customs agent asked if we had liquor r cigarettes. We truthfully said "no." He then asked the porter to move the baggage cart forward a few feet so he could look at what we were bringing off the ship.

He was a real hard nosed agent and took forever to process people. He made everyone remove baseball caps, and looked at the passports as if he was looking to buy the pictures.

The woman in the lane next to him cleared at least 3 families for every on this guy did.

If y'all want to go back to the days before the US had income tax you would find out that one of the main sources of income for the government was duties on goods imported, both federal and state. If this was a new deal for the State of Texas to charge duties on liquor I might see why everyone is getting there knickers in a twist, but this is a tax that has been in effect in Texas for years, applies only to state residents, and why should cruise passengers get a free pass?

I've been cruising for over 25 years, and back in the day, cruising was a big bargain, you could shop the caribbean duty free, get great deals on diamonds and liquor and it was fun getting home and bragging to friends about how much money you saved. However, today, I feel that cruising has gone by the way of the buck. Cruise lines adding $$ to things that were included and at much better quality. Now the islands are getting into the $$ business and find that once was a bargain is no longer, and at some point I can get the item cheaper at home. If taxing liquor and cigaretts upon return from your cruise, where does the term duty free fit? I for one don't have the need to make these purchases anymore. Been there, done that. Last year we noticed we were taxed on our drinks before we saled out of New York, I guess the rope attached to the dock made us an attachment to the city of -- Now we just cruise for the ride--until that get taxed as well.

Time for a Galveston Bay Tea party..:eek: