CROSS-BORDER HOLIDAY SHOPPERS MAY BE BREAKING LAW

SPOKANE (AP) - That carton of Kools under the Christmas tree for Aunt
Harriet could make you a criminal in the eyes of state officials.

If those cigarettes were purchased in Idaho or Oregon - where tobacco taxes
are lower - state regulators say you broke the law.

A handful of Spokane-area smokers found out the hard way Monday in a
Washington State Liquor Control Board sting operation as they returned from
a Stateline, Idaho, smokeshop.

They had hoped to save about $5.50 per carton in taxes across the border,
but seven Washington state residents were issued citations that could
result in $250 fines for tax evasion.

The state Department of Revenue estimates Washington loses $127 million a
year in potential tobacco tax revenues.

Monday's sting against so-called ``casual smugglers'' was intended to make
people aware that it is a misdemeanor to bring tobacco products from
another state into Washington, WSLCB spokeswoman Tricia Currier said Tuesday.

``We're not just trying to make money on fines. We want to show a presence
so they can know and get the word out,'' she said. ``A lot of people don't
know it's illegal.''

Agents seized 18 cartons of cigarettes and eight loose packs during the
four-hour operation, said Gigi Zenk, another agency spokeswoman.

``I think it stinks,'' Spokane resident Susan Moller told The
Spokesman-Review after agents seized two cartons of smokes she had just
purchased in Idaho. ``I paid taxes over there.''

But because she didn't pay taxes over here, Ms. Moller and the others are
considered tax evaders, Mike Gowrylow of the state Department of Revenue said.

To avoid becoming a smuggler, Washington state smokers would have to fill
out a Department of Revenue form and pay the difference in tax rates before
buying their smokes in Idaho or Oregon, he said.

``I doubt very many people do,'' he added.

Tobacco products sold at Indian reservation smokeshops comprise the largest
amount of lost potential tax revenues, about 66 percent, Gowrylow said. The
``casual smugglers'' who cross state lines represent another 22 percent -
$28.1 million in fiscal 1998. Sales on military reservations amount to
about 12 percent of the total, he said.

In Monday's sting, agents staked out a Stateline, Idaho, smokeshop. The
license plates of Washington residents seen leaving the store with tobacco
products were radioed ahead to officers waiting to stop them and seize
their smokes just across the state line.

Currier said her agency plans more of the stings, including some on the
west side of the state.

Checked-by: Richard Lake