Tax man cometh for drug dealers
A pair of Grundy County men caught in a field full of marijuana last week are now worrying about more than just a penitentiary stay as the state tax collector has come to assess taxes on each one of the 337 plants pulled from the Rogers Hollow patch.
“The tax man is going to get his,” said Sheriff Jackie Matheny of plans by the state to tax the men on the $337,000 worth of marijuana. “They are very serious about collecting this money.”
The defendants, Daniel McGee and Morris Richardson, now free on bond, could face up to 12 years in jail for the Class B felony. The men were caught in the remote marijuana patch by officers who laid in wait, and have reportedly cooperated with lawmen after first claiming they were ginseng hunters.
The added punishment of drug taxes comes as part of a newly enacted state law which requires drug dealers to pay taxes on their drugs. Those who are caught without tax stamps on their drugs are assessed both the taxes and tax penalties.
The amount of taxes are assessed based on the worth of the drugs. In the case of the Rogers Hollow patch, lawmen say each plant was worth about $1,000. When the amount is totaled, the men combined are expected to be leveled over $100,000 each in drug taxes and fines.
“They’ve already collected drug taxes here in other cases and we expect to see it more and more,” Matheny said. “If the person can’t pay it, then the state will seize property, garnish wages and things like that. Like I said, the tax man will get his one way or another.”
A costly predicament
In addition to jail time, people caught with illegal drugs can be forced to pay taxes on them. Those taxes can be collected by garnishing wages or seizing property.