Press-Republican

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.
comments powered by Disqus
October 28, 2009

Cigarette-tax policy on reservations called a local loss

<img src="/homepage/images_image_276103054" alt="&#149;">&nbsp;&nbsp;Mohawks cite $95 million local impact, enhanced by tax-free cigarette sales

By DENISE A. RAYMO

AKWESASNE — The $119 million economic impact of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe could plummet if the state begins taxing on-reservation cigarette sales, Mohawk officials say.

It could cost jobs, reduce slot-machine-revenue sharing to Franklin and St. Lawrence counties and damage the overall North Country economy.

And this week's State Senate committee hearings on enforcing cigarette-tax laws could create more hardship instead of relieving it, tribal leaders say.

IMPACT REPORT
An economic-impact study by the Taylor Policy Group showed that by paying wages to more than 1,300 people, buying a majority of its goods and services locally and sharing millions in gaming profits each year, the tribe had a $119 million impact in New York in 2008 and a $95 million impact on Franklin and St. Lawrence counties.

The counties shared $7.8 million in slot-machine revenue in 2008.

But Tribal Council Chief James Ransom testified Tuesday that if an existing sales-tax law is enforced, the state would lose between $13 million and $20 million a year, based on a study the Tribal Council commissioned in 2003.

He spoke before the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, which is taking input on enforcement of tax laws adopted almost 20 years ago.

Previous attempts at enforcement in 1992 and 1997 met with protests from Indian nations across the state, including blockades on state roadways and the Thruway.

And lawmakers fear the same thing would happen again if enforcement were tried today.

CITES TEA PARTY
"To understand why we refuse to be the state's tax collectors, all you have to do is examine an event in your own history," Ransom said. "The parallels to our situation today are striking."

The Boston Tea Party of 1773, which eventually led to the American Revolution and establishment of the United States of America, "is arguably amongst the strongest examples of civil unrest in history," he said.

"It was the British trying to impose taxes on the colonists, getting them to, in essence, help pay for a huge British financial deficit that was none of their making," the chief said.

"If we jump forward to 2009, New York state has taken over the role of the British and is trying to impose taxes within sovereign Mohawk and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) territories.

"Instead of a tea tax, it is a cigarette tax," Ransom told the committee. "Exactly as in 1773, the governor and State Legislature are justifying the most-recent tax legislation, stating the need for the tax (exists) because of the tremendous budget deficit they are trying to address.

"Our rights and interests are no less important than they were for the colonists," the chief said. "Protesting has long been an integral part of democracies and is viewed as an acceptable right of the oppressed.

"And much like 230 years ago, the oppressors are labeling our acts of civil disobedience as unlawful and illegal."

RIGHTS
He said "the state should expect no less" than what occurred in June, when Mohawks turned out in great numbers to voice their opposition to an attempt by the Canadian Border Service Agency to issue a sidearm to all of its customs agents at the Port of Entry on Cornwall Island.

"It was met with civil disobedience because of this failure to consider our rights — rights enshrined in the Canadian Constitution and Canada's Charter of Rights," Ransom said.

The agency closed its customs house over the issue, which also shut down the Seaway International Bridge for six weeks before authorities moved the Customs check off Akwesasne and into the City of Cornwall.

Until the state sits down to negotiate a compromise, Mohawks and all other tribes in New York say they will continue to oppose taxation.

"If our rights are given fair consideration and meaningful consultation occurs, then a peaceful resolution of state concerns can be found," Ransom said.

"But if the state should attempt to enforce a unilateral solution, I would expect a tea party to occur, as it did over 200 years ago."

E-mail Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepubloican.com

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News

Recent Article Comments
Albany Round-up

Photo of the Day
Strange News
Videos: Editor Picks
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48 Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48 Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion' 5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La. Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal $25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses