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Editorial: Collect tobacco tax in Indian Country
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Filed Under: Opinion

"The state Senate Standing Committee on Investigations and Government Operations on Tuesday is holding a hearing in New York City on the state's failure to collect taxes on sales of cigarettes sold by Indian-owned retailers to non-Indian customers. Despite clear laws on the books for year, Indian-owned retail outlets, such as the convenience stores in Union Springs and Seneca Falls owned by the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York, have refused to collect the taxes, claiming their sovereign status exempts them from doing so. This argument, of course, falls flat because no one is attempting to deny these retailers from selling untaxed products to members of their tribes - it applies only to non-Indian customers.

The bigger problem, though, has been the failure of multiple governors' administrations to enforce the law.

Fortunately, with concerns about untaxed cigarettes rapidly growing in the New York City region, the push to resolve this problem is now gaining some much-needed bipartisan support in Albany. At a time when the state is in a budget crisis created by severe revenue shortfalls, the failure to collect these taxes is costing an estimated $65 million this year, according to the state Office of the Budget.

And that's likely a conservative figure, because it's not taking into account the revenues that could come from non-Indian retailer sales if they had a fair competitive environment in this state.

All of this information will once again be repeated at Tuesday's hearing. Our hope is that Gov. David Paterson is paying attention, and that he'll finally find the courage - and common sense - to do what is right."

Get the Story:
Our View: State needs to enforce cigarette law (The Auburn Citizen 10/26)

Also Today:
Senecas Travel to NYC for Hearing on Indian Taxes (WBFO 10/27)
NY may try to collect taxes on Indian cigarettes (AP 10/26)

Related Stories:
'Threat assessment' sought in tribal tobacco fight (10/21)

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