Editorial: Tribes in New York should pay gasoline taxes to state

Wednesday, August 24, 2011  

"The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs on Tuesday voted in favor of allowing the Cayuga Indian Nation to replace its federally recognized leader, with whom many tribal members have grown disenfranchised with.

The change is subject to appeal, but with tribal leadership being challenged, we believe this may be a perfect time for the state of New York put some pressure on the Nation over some points in which the tribe is at odds with the state.

And having recently won a drawn-out fight over cigarette taxes, we believe the next big issue for the state to tackle is gasoline tax, because the same principles are at play.

In the exact same way that the state had been losing out on millions of dollars every year when cigarettes were sold by tribal-owned convenience stores to the general public, the state continues to lose money every time non-tribal members fill up their tanks at tribal-run gas stations."

Get the Story:
Our View: State should go after gas tax from tribes (The Auburn Citizen 8/24)