Thieving New York state again attempts to grab tobacco levies from Indian nations

The tax man just can’t seem to get a break these days. Billion-dollar private-equity companies are fighting against President Obama’s proposal to tax them at higher levels. Congressional Republicans are working to extend Bush-era cuts. And the Taxed Enough Already Party is demonstrating across the country against what it sees as the federal government's overreach into their pockets. Now American Indians are battling New York Gov. David Paterson over whether the state has the right to tax cigarettes sold on reservations.

A federal court yesterday halted efforts by New York to start levying the taxes on cigarettes sold to nontribal buyers. Faced with a mounting budget crisis, Paterson had vowed to start bringing in money from reservation sales as soon as today. The Seneca Nation, which asked for the injunction, sees the right to sell tobacco on its land as part of its national sovereignty. “Most Americans don’t understand that reservations are separate from the state,” says Greg Gagnon, who is a Chippewa and associate professor of Indian studies at the University of North Dakota. "State jurisdiction is not supposed to extend onto reservations."

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Thieving New York state again attempts to grab tobacco levies from Indian nations

Thieving New York state again attempts to grab tobacco levies from Indian nations

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