Uptown Cigar of Kingston NY Leaves for Florida

[TommyBB]

NOW a New York state assemblyman wants to go after Indian Nations.
The Rest of the Story

New York State Legislator Calls for Termination of Indian Nation Because They Fail to Pay Cigarette Taxes to the State
A New York State legislator - Senator Craig M. Johnson - has apparently called for the termination of recognition of the Unkechaug Nation because of its failure to pay cigarette taxes to the state on cigarettes sold to non-tribal members on its reservations, according to an article in Indian Country Today.

According to the article: "Almost 50 years after the termination era ended, a New York state legislator has reintroduced the idea with a recommendation to terminate the Unkechaug Nation. Sen. Craig M. Johnson, a Democrat who represents Long Island where the Unkechaug and their ancestors have lived since time immemorial, issued the recommendation in a June 11 report called “Executive Refusal: Why the State has Failed to Collect Cigarette Taxes on Native American Reservations.” ... Chief Harry Wallace, Unkechaug leader since 1994, said the recommendation is tantamount to advocating “cultural genocide.” “It’s genocide. It’s cultural genocide. That would be the effect of it.” ... Johnson chairs the state Senate’s Standing Committee on Investigations and Government operations, which compiled the report."

"Ten days after publication, legislators passed a bill to force tribal nations to collect taxes on cigarettes sold to non-tribal members on reservations by requiring all cigarettes sold to Indian reservations to have “an affixed cigarette stamp....”

Click through to read the entire article.