Log In | Register
AUBURN — Local officials said they will file a notice of appeal following a court decision that allows the Cayuga Indian Nation to resume selling untaxed cigarettes at two tribal stores in central New York.
On Friday, the Appellate Division in Rochester reversed a state judge who blocked the sales at the LakeSide Trading stores in Union Springs and Seneca Falls.
Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said Monday that county officials are reviewing the appeals court ruling.
"Our position is that the Cayuga Indian Nation benefits from the same infrastructure and services as the taxpayers of Cayuga County, but they do not pay their fair share of the cost," Budelmann said. "As a result, those obeying the tax laws are forced to pay more."
In late November, sheriff's deputies in the counties raided the Cayugas' two LakeSide stores, seizing about 17,600 cartons of cigarettes. The Cayugas estimated the cigarettes were worth more than $500,000.
"The Nation is very gratified by this decision, which will permit it to resume doing what every other Indian tribe in the state has been doing for years without threat of criminal prosecution," said Dan French, the lawyer representing the Cayugas.
The counties claimed that because the Cayugas do not have an official reservation, they were violating state tax law. The Cayugas claim the stores lie within their former ancestral homeland. They argue that the territory is a reservation that was established by federal treaty and that it has never been disestablished.
The stores had been selling gas and sundries since the raid. Cigarette sales resumed almost immediately Friday after the ruling.
The Cayugas have said they intend to sue Seneca and Cayuga counties to recover the value of seized cigarettes as well as lost revenue, French said.
