The state will not be able to collect taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian retailers to non-Indians for another week as a judge considers a Seneca Nation bid to force the state to reconsider how it will enforce the law.
After hearing about 80 minutes of arguments, State Supreme Court Justice Donna M. Siwek on Wednesday left in force her May 10 temporary restraining order barring the collection of all taxes on reservation cigarette sales. She promised a decision in a week.
Seneca President Robert Odawi Porter said after the hearing that the nation wants the judge to order the state to “start all over” and follow state administrative procedure laws in assessing the law’s impact on the Seneca economy and jobs.
Assistant Attorney General Andrew D. Bing insisted to the judge the tax agency’s rules “would have no impact on jobs” if taxes are collected on non-Indian cigarette buyers.
The nation’s complaints about job loses are “the result of statutory choices the [State] Legislature made” and not due to the tax agency’s proposed regulatory mandates on enforcement of the law, he said.
Nation attorney Carol E. Heckman argued that the proposed regulations on enforcement of the cigarette tax law have overlooked other laws mandating that the effect of a new law on jobs and the regional economy be considered.
State tax officials “have refused to address” job impact in publishing their proposed tax collection regulations, she said.
At issue in the state and federal court fights are state estimates on the nearly $1 billion a year the state government loses on reservation cigarette sales to non-Indians. The state budget assumes Albany will finally begin collecting more than $100 million in taxes on reservation cigarette sales this year.
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