Big Mayor: Bloomberg War on Indian Tribes For Taxes
by PubliusNo fight, nor sovereign nation, is too small to find tax revenue:
On August 25 of this year, a federal-court judge in Brooklyn handed down a verdict addressing the Unkechaug’s motion to dismiss. Federal Judge Carol Amon denied the motion and ruled that the state appellate court had misinterpreted the law in question. She ruled that regular tax law indeed applied to the tobacco trade on Indian reservations, as it does everywhere in the state. She issued a temporary injunction banning all further cigarette sales at four stores identified in the city’s suit. Chief Wallace and the Unkechaug appealed. On September 25, the court announced that though the appeal would be heard, the injunction would continue. But that leaves ten other smoke shops in the Poospatuck reservation, and the cars are still backed up around Squaw Lane. “The city will go after every dollar that is owed to city taxpayers,” said Bloomberg in a statement.
Wallace is far from ready to smoke the peace pipe, however. He says it’s the same as it was with whaling in the seventeenth century. “The goal here is not to stop us from selling cigarettes,” Chief Wallace said. “It’s to try and destroy us as a people, because every effort that we made to resolve these things has met with resistance. They don’t want to do it. They want to take it as far as they can to try and kill us.
“They need a scapegoat for not blaming his friends on Wall Street,” said the chief, his tone slowly rising. He began pacing in circles, literally hopping mad. “Who is a convenient scapegoat? The smallest tribe in New York, selling a demonic product—that’s a good scapegoat.”
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19 Comments
So the heavy hand of Government continues. Government is not the solution, Government is the problem.
Tobacco bad, taxes from selling tobacco good? The tax code should not be used for social engineering and punishment.
Wait… Now I may very well could be wrong here, and will concede if I am… but aren't Indian Reservations exempt from that kind of thing?
Only on sales to Indians. Since 1994, they've been expected to collect taxes on sales of cigarettes to non-Indians.
Sales of tobacco on reservations is rather like legalized black market. If Indians want to be sovereign, perhaps they should take on the real cost of being an independent country. It seems that the sovereignty thing is rather a one way street. And, like gambling on so-called reservations – lots of gang and mob involvement. Not a healthy combination in any way. And – as Heather points out – the obligation to collect taxes is not controversial. Only the states' enforcement of it.
I don't think this is a big bad white government/ poor brown Indians controversy.
The indians should have disallowed illegal immigrants.
“The city will go after every dollar that is owed to city taxpayers,”? No, no, no! The city will go after every dollar that they believe is owed to the GOVERNMENT! Does anyone really believe that they're doing this for the taxpayer? If you do, I have some great investment ideas!
[...] Bloomberg. Big Mayor: Bloomberg War on Indian Tribes For Taxes On August 25 of this year, a federal-court judge in Brooklyn handed down a verdict addressing the [...]
I think the Chief fails to understand that race and destroying the tribe is not what Bloomberg wants to do. Its merely a look into trying to get more tax money. Bloomberg see's cigarette sales at the smoke shops as money that he needs to get taxes from. Occam's razor. Its seldom more complicated than that. Bloomberg wants money for the city which is again in the red and he can't tax this products sales because Indian Tribes are considered seperate nations by the Federal government. It goes all the way back to Thomas Jefferson. I'd say in this, and not because I like the Federal government that the Tribes are in the right here. If this goes to the SCOTUS it will be interesting because it may set a new precedent in the ways the Fed and Local govs. relate to the tribes.
I am wondering if Bloomberg actually pays taxes.
Bllomberg is a liberal chief. We are all getting "Scalped" by them eventally!
But wouldn't that require them to ask their customers for some sort of identification? Prove that you do or don't have to pay the tax? I thought we were post-racial now.
(I love irony.)
That is why they call it a sin tax, because by liberal theology (the same one bringing you the Absolute Truth of Climate Change) smoking is a sin that must be punished. But like the pre-Reformation Roman Catholic Church, they find it in their best interest to let it happen and sell indulgences rather than condemning it completely and banning it outright.
The harm the tribe would suffer falls under "Unintended Consequences." But when politicians are involved, it is an unintended consequence when a house collapses, they were merely trying to drive the bulldozer from one street to another. While it should be expected, as will likely be the case here, that the bulldozer will get stuck in the basement, it will nevertheless be declared completely unforeseen. And the house does not notice the difference.
This should be handled like with sales tax for online purchases, it is the obligation of the buyer to pay the applicable taxes. But since compliance is always a pain, they want the tribe to do the dirty work for them.
They could just set up roadblocks on the way out of the reservation, run them like Customs and check for undeclared contraband. But, likely that would be a federal matter, border control. And also likely those pesky Fourth Amendment Rights against "unreasonable search and seizure" will get mentioned. It would be interesting if they would try it however, since then we might see the ACLU jump in and do something useful.
If the government wants to balance the budget, why don't they start taxing churches. The Catholic church alone holds over 320 BILLION just in real estate and just in the U.S.
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