The Oneida Nation filed a lawsuit today in federal court in hopes of blocking the state of New York from imposing a tobacco tax on the reservation.

The state wants to tax wholesalers that provide cigarettes to tribes. The lawsuit says the proposal amounts to an illegal tax on tribal governments.

The plans "violate clearly-established federal principles barring direct state taxation of Indian tribes," the tribe said in the complaint.

The lawsuit is one of several against the tax, which is currently on hold pending the resolution of cases in federal and state court.

Get the Story:
Oneida Nation suing state over cigarette tax collection (The Utica Observer-Dispatch 9/7)

Relevant Documents:
ATF Letter on Tribal Consultation (May 19, 2010)

Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act:
H.R.1676 | S.1147

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