John Kane of “Let’s Talk Native” has stated that he suspects that the State ultimately wants to shut down Native American tobacco retail businesses by outlawing Native brands, and to actively stop the legal distribution of those brands. 

When I asked Budget Director Robert Megna if that was the case, his response was the following:

“You know, I don’t think so.  I mean, I haven’t heard that. We know that the Native Americans produce or have begun producing their own brands of cigarettes, but I think what we have said, the State of New York has said for many years, is that we want to collect the money paid on cigarettes that were not produced by the Native Americans that are being sold by the Native Americans to New Yorkers tax free.  It’s as simple and straight forward as that. I think the Governor’s office and the Tax Department have developed a rational plan for doing that which does not involve the State infringing on the territories of Native Americans but rather working through wholesalers and saying that if you are going to sell manufactured cigarettes, that all cigarettes have to have a stamp on them to ensure that those that are being sold to New Yorkers, the tax has been paid and that an allocated amount will go to Native Americans for their…for their purposes that will be tax free. This has been our policy for a long time.”

Here is a response from Kane –

“…the state believes it has a right to pre-collect both its excise and sales taxes on cigarettes from everyone except those enrolled on the land from which they are sold. So if you are a Mohawk living on the Cattaraugus territory of the Seneca Nation, the state considers you and your purchases taxable. Any law maker, judge, agency or enforcement officer who does not see this for the racist, oppressive, meddling piece of shit that it is, must truly be ignorant. To suggest that a Seneca from Tonawanda cannot conduct trade with a Seneca from Cattaraugus on Seneca land without the state getting its cut is an act of aggression.  I am always pissed off at the state when they try to interfere with our lives but this is the height of arrogance. Tighten your seatbelts everyone it is going to be one hell of a summer!”