SPITZER 'CRACK TAX' PROTECTS DRUGGIES

ALBANY - Dealers and users who pay a proposed state levy on illicit
drugs - dubbed the "crack tax" by critics - would not be turned over
to police by tax officials under a plan being pushed by Gov. Spitzer.

Spitzer, in his 2008-09 budget proposal unveiled Tuesday, said he
wants to create a tax stamp for illegal drugs, similar to such stamps
used for cigarettes, which he says would raise $13 million in the
coming fiscal year and $17 million annually after that.

According to a memo explaining the eyebrow-raising proposal, "The
bill contains a unique and strict secrecy requirement, preserving the
confidentiality of any information obtained from a dealer."

Disclosure of the information in some cases would be allowed for a
criminal or civil proceeding involving taxes.

But "the bill specifically provides that none of the information may
be used against the dealer in any criminal proceeding [other than a
tax crime] unless it has been obtained independently," the memo said.

Dubbing it the "crack tax," state Sen. Martin Golden, a Brooklyn
Republican and former city cop, called Spitzer's plan "another
pie-in-the-sky idea that really has no legitimacy, and hopefully is
not a first step toward legalizing drugs."

The plan, modeled after one in North Carolina, would require arrested
drug dealers or users to purchase different tax stamps from the state.

"Upon receipt of the product, the dealer must affix enough stamps to
the packages of marihuana [as it's spelled in official state
legislative documents] or the controlled substance in order to show
the tax has been fully paid," according to the proposal.

A tax stamp for marijuana would cost $3.50 per gram, while one for a
controlled substance, "whether pure or dilute[d]," would be $200 per gram.

Experience in other states shows that stamp collectors, not drug
dealers, are the ones purchasing the tax stamps.

The taxes and any applicable fines and penalties in those states are
typically collected after a person is charged and their drugs seized by police.

Spitzer aides said they realize it's highly unlikely any drug dealers
would come forward to purchase tax stamps.

That is why, they say, the governor's proposal requires "prompt
notification" of the tax commissioner by law-enforcement agencies and
DAs "who obtain any information that indicates that a dealer has
failed to pay the tax due."