By Carla E. Kinder
Madison, WI – Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle is putting a stop to the Department of Revenue's plan to collect back taxes on cigarette purchases. Last month the Revenue Department mailed letters to 500 Wisconsinites demanding payment of taxes for cigarettes they bought online. Doyle says this plan is too much of a burden on Wisconsin residents, especially the elderly. A spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue says it has the names of 6,000 residents who avoided the tax by buying their smokes on the Internet. This could have brought in about $3 million in back taxes.