Underlying Indian tax debate is possibility of violence
By
JOEL STASHENKO Associated Press Writer
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040204/APN/402040854
ALBANY, N.Y. --
The possibility of
violence lies just below the surface of the debate over collecting cigarette
taxes from Indian merchants.
Gov. George Pataki acknowledged as much when he asked the Legislature last month
to give him a year's delay on when the state starts to collect the taxes. The
state is supposed to start collections March 1, already three months later than
lawmakers intended.
Pataki said he is seeking "cooperation rather than confrontation" with
various tribal leaders on issues including collecting taxes from Indian sales to
non-Indians, land claims by tribes and the establishment of new Indian casinos.
Pataki wouldn't say more, except that the discussions are "very, very
difficult."
Attempts by the state to collect taxes on cigarette and gasoline sales by Indian
businessmen, in 1992 and 1997, triggered violence both times.
Seneca Indians blocked the state Thruway and the Southern Tier Expressway with
burning cars, tires and other debris. Both times, the state ended up abandoning
its efforts.
The Senecas, the most vocal of the state's Indian nations on the tax issue, are
resisting the collections again.
But they're taking a different approach this time. They are using a radio,
television and print media blitz to criticize the tax collection plan as a
violation of an 1842 treaty between the Senecas and the state. The thrust of the
ads is that the state would be the lawbreaker if it tries to collect the taxes.
Through that ad campaign and their lobbyists, the Senecas are merely using the
same tools that pro-tax collection groups like the state Association of
Convenience Stores have long employed to try to get their way in Albany, said
Seneca Tribal Councilor Arthur Sugar Montour.
The Senecas have those resources this time around in large part because of
revenue generated by the casino they opened last year in Niagara Falls. Seneca
businessmen are also contributing to the campaign, according to Montour.
The tribe's opponents are just jealous, Montour said.
"They've never had an Indian nation have close to the amount of dollars
that we have available for lobbying," he said.
It is "absolutely untrue" that the Senecas have threatened violence if
there is a renewed push to collect the taxes, Montour said.
"The suggestion of violent tactics has only been raised by the media and
other parties," said Rickey L. Armstrong Sr., president of the Seneca
Indian Nation.
Still, former Seneca President Duane James Ray said in December he could not
guarantee that violence would not occur.
"I don't know, it happened before," Ray said.
Convenience store owners, anti-smoking advocates and others who favor the tax
collections are growing increasingly frustrated by Pataki's delays.
Bill Magee, a Democratic state assemblyman from Madison County, said it is
"absolutely asinine" for the Republican governor to put off collection
of the taxes.
Dan Finkle, a leader in the merchant coalition "Fair Application of
Cigarette Taxes," contended that Indians are using the not-so-veiled threat
of violence as a bargaining tool in negotiations with the state.
"Where's the threat of confrontation coming from?" asked Finkle, a
Johnstown distributor. "It's coming from those who talk about patriotism
one minute and the next minute thumb their noses at the law. How do you
cooperate with someone whose main bargaining tool is confrontation?"
Association of Convenience Stores President Jim Calvin mockingly referred to the
Pataki administration "forging a new model of governing in New York
state."
"The legislative branch passes a law that makes some people unhappy,"
he said. "The unhappy people spend several million dollars voicing their
unhappiness and the executive branch refuses to enforce that law until it can
negotiate softer terms with the unhappy parties."
A coalition of non-Indian businessmen including Calvin's group said it will run
its own campaign to educate New Yorkers about the need to collect the taxes.
Retailers will post lawn signs, posters and hand out brochures at their stores
to tell customers that the sale of tax-free cigarettes hurts all New Yorkers by
depriving the state treasury of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues.
"We don't have millions to burn, so we're using our most valuable asset -
our high-traffic locations and our contact with thousands of customers each day
- to spread the word," Calvin said.
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Joel Stashenko is Capitol Editor for The Associated Press in Albany. He can be
reached at P.O. Box 7165, Capitol Station, Albany, N.Y., 12224.
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RELATED:
Campaign Seeks Tribe Tax Collections
Storeowner group wants state to collect taxes from Native American retailers
(New York) -- Convenience store owners Tuesday said they've scraped together $50,000 to counter a multimillion dollar Seneca Indian advertising campaign against the collection of taxes on goods sold at Native American stores.
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