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[ INDUSTRY NEWS]
NYACS demands enforcement of non-trust Indian stores
The New York Association of Convenience Stores has called upon New York state agencies to immediately enforce tax, health and environmental laws on Native American-operated stores that are located neither on a reservation nor on land placed in trust by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
The demand arises from the March 29 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the City of Sherrill case that the Oneida Indian Nation may not buy property in Central New York outside its reservation, unilaterally declare it sovereign Indian land and claim immunity from local jurisdiction.
"In our view, this means any tribal store not on a reservation or on land placed in federal trust must collect excise and sales taxes on gas and cigarettes, and is also subject to all other state and local regulations they claim to be immune from," said NYACS president James Calvin.
Calvin said this would apply to Cayuga Indian Nation-operated stores in Union Springs and Seneca Falls, N.Y., as well as a significant number of Oneida Indian Nation stores in Oneida and Madison counties.
"By hastily applying to get all their non-reservation land placed in trust by the Interior Department, both tribes have tacitly acknowledged that the Sherrill ruling subjects that property to state and local taxes and regulations," said Calvin. "Under the Sherrill ruling, 'we don't have jurisdiction' is no longer a valid excuse for selective non-enforcement. For far too long, our Native American competitors have been exempted from the regulations that licensed, non-Indian retailers are required to strictly adhere to under penalty of law."
NYACS maintained that:
- The Department of Taxation and Finance should begin collecting excise taxes on sales of motor fuel and tobacco to non-Indian New Yorkers taking place at all Cayuga and other tribal convenience stores, truck stops and smoke shops situated on non-reservation land not in trust, and require them to register as sales tax vendors and to collect and remit state and local sales taxes.
- The Department of Environmental Conservation should require registration and periodic testing of underground petroleum storage tanks at these locations, and make sure they are collecting and redeeming the mandatory nickel deposit on carbonated beverages.
- The Department of Health should begin conducting undercover compliance checks at these locations to detect and punish any underage sales of tobacco and enforce the statewide ban on self-serve displays of tobacco.
- The Bureau of Weights and Measures should immediately test the gasoline pumps at these locations to ensure non-Indian consumers that a gallon is a gallon.
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