Trying to Collect Taxes -- Again
New York State is going to try again to collect taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian retailers to non-Indian customers.
New York Governor David Paterson has ordered the state tax department to put regulations in place to enforce a 2008 law intended to stop wholesalers from selling unstamped cigarettes to tribes, although he says he would prefer to settle the dispute through negotiations with Indian leaders.
He says it's a matter of being fair to non-Indian retailers who, if a proposal in his new budget is approved, would have to add another dollar a pack onto the price of cigarettes. That would raise the tax to $3.75 a pack. Paterson says the tax on on cigarettes sold by Indians to non-Indians would also bring in millions of dollars for the state.
Seneca Nation President Barry Snyder Sr. said in a statement, "We will not be the State’s tax collectors and we will defend our freedom regardless of the cost."
New York Governor David Paterson has ordered the state tax department to put regulations in place to enforce a 2008 law intended to stop wholesalers from selling unstamped cigarettes to tribes, although he says he would prefer to settle the dispute through negotiations with Indian leaders.
He says it's a matter of being fair to non-Indian retailers who, if a proposal in his new budget is approved, would have to add another dollar a pack onto the price of cigarettes. That would raise the tax to $3.75 a pack. Paterson says the tax on on cigarettes sold by Indians to non-Indians would also bring in millions of dollars for the state.
Seneca Nation President Barry Snyder Sr. said in a statement, "We will not be the State’s tax collectors and we will defend our freedom regardless of the cost."
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