South Dakota: State Keeps Eye Out For Bootleg Cigarettes
South Dakota smokers who cross the border to escape the $1 per-pack tax increase on cigarettes are breaking state law when they bring the cigarettes back into the state.
The bootlegging, if large enough, can result in penalties and loss of the cigarettes.
"Our statute says that any cigarettes in South Dakota without tax stamps are contraband, and subject to seizure," said Michael Kenyon, director of property and special taxes for the South Dakota Department of Revenue in Pierre. "We look for unstamped stuff and cigarettes not on our directory. Obviously, we seize those, generally from a seller. We haven't gone into anybody's home yet." . . .
The per-pack cigarette tax in neighboring states is 60 cents in Wyoming, 44 cents in North Dakota, 64 cents in Nebraska, 36 cents in Iowa, $1.70 in Montana and $1.49 in Minnesota.
