gopherboy Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Hi all. I just recently moved to Texas and as I don't know my way around very well yet I decided to stick with purchasing online for the time being. I usually go through hookah-shisha.com but when I came to the check out process it tried charging me 90ish dollars for around 50 dollars of shisha. When I looked at the tax it came to be a 66% tax on my sale(claimed to be Texas state tobacco tax). Does anybody know why that is? I started searching around and ended up buying through texashookah.com instead. The sub total was around the same amount of shisha for the price, but without the 66% tax added on. I'm at a loss as to why one company located in Texas would add this tax to their overall sale and another would be able to avoid it. Any explanation would be awesome. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Texas passed a law so that now there is an outrageous tax on hookah tobacco. Since H-S is located in Texas, they are forced to charge you the tax. Now as to why TexasHookah did not charge it, I do not know. They'd have to tell you that. I'd talk to Stuie on here about your best options for ordering hookah tobacco, as he's located in Texas as well. All I can tell you is to order from a site that isn't located in Texas. Sorry man, the gov is out to fuck you. :( Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuie Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 September or November of 2012 the Texas Legislature passed a law of 356 or so percent on hookah tobacco. H-S complies with all new regulations with in 30 days (they no longer sell quicklights because of new postal regulations but some vendors will claim ignorance to avoid for the first year they get caught) ... they are smart it avoids lawsuits. TH will face some sever penalties come tax time this year. If they aren't careful it could bankrupt them. I no longer order shisha direct from Texas since i live in Texas. Many other vendors out there. There are technical loopholes but generally speaking you have to be in a certain position to take advantage of them. My personal advice as a Texan... learn to love herbal or shop outside Texas. I have several personal friends in the Texas Legislature.... I literally have their cell phone numbers...Honestly from conversations there is no way around it Texas has a huge anti smoking push and any one standing against it is political suicide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wek-sos Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 (edited) Texas Hookah Haze Social Smoke Hookah-Shisha Hookah Company All Texas-based vendors and you will be paying the same taxes from each vendor. I know TH prices in-store are adjusted to reflect the taxes... Something like $23 for 250g of Tangiers, $65 for a kilo of Afzal. The only things you should order in Texas are pipes, coals, and accessories. Stuie I'm not sure what loopholes you are speaking of, but I am not asking you to discuss them online. I guess they would not be for online orders? I traded a Mya for a kilo of Pan Rasna from a guy in Illinois. He ordered from TH and with my Texas shipping address, he was charged a whole bunch in taxes. Edited February 17, 2014 by wek-sos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legatus Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Seriously? This is insane. If I want to smoke whatever tobacco I want, let me do so. I'm fine with not being able to smoke in public and what not, but what I do in the comfort of my home should not be taxed so heavily by the government. They can't make it illegal. because then it is infringing on our rights, but they'll make sure it's damn impossible to acquire it. I love our "freedom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopherboy Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 Man that's depressing. But thank you for the info. Is it taxed on business' shipping to Texas regardless or is it only the business' based in Texas that the tax is enforced on online? I was honestly considering having it shipped to my friend out of state and having him ship it to me as opposed to paying the absurd tax. Is there any fallout from that or is it a viable solution? Also what sights do you recommend located outside of Texas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaoz187 Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 i believe if u just put a shipping adress from texas u get taxed...im sure there are tons of ways to get around it...but i dont think we can talk about getting around laws on a thread lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud-Hookah Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Yeah as a vendor I've been hard pressed on evening wanting to sell tobacco, Texas has huge taxes, California is moments away from making tobacco online sales illegal for California residence, and even the other states are becoming more and more against it. I think its absolutely hilarious that you can now legally smoke pot in a few states and even in detroit for recreational purposes but standard tobacco is now made from the devil ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 i believe if u just put a shipping adress from texas u get taxed...im sure there are tons of ways to get around it...but i dont think we can talk about getting around laws on a thread lol. Correct. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuie Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 i believe if u just put a shipping adress from texas u get taxed...im sure there are tons of ways to get around it...but i dont think we can talk about getting around laws on a thread lol. Correct. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk That's the big one. Taxes are calculated on shipping address not billing address if that gives you some clues. I once considered geting a PO Box in Oklahoma since I am 15 minutes from the border. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skoozle Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Could you get an OK P.O. box and have mail forwarded to you in TX? I don't know if that would be worth it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wek-sos Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 i believe if u just put a shipping adress from texas u get taxed...im sure there are tons of ways to get around it...but i dont think we can talk about getting around laws on a thread lol. Correct. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk That's the big one. Taxes are calculated on shipping address not billing address if that gives you some clues. I once considered geting a PO Box in Oklahoma since I am 15 minutes from the border. And I'm sure when you "check your mail" you won't stop by Winstar :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud-Hookah Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 you would have to order a crap ton of tobacco to make up for the price of the PO box compared to just ordering from a different vendor with more shipping costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzbizz Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 So recently I made an order with h-s after a few years from my last order. Before they could ship, they asked me to email a photo of myself holding my photo ID that has my birth date on it. This thread made me think of that. I thought it was strange but obviously their tobacco laws are strict in Texas. Just wanted to let everyone know their methods of confirming their customer's age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Damn, Texas is really cracking down. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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