Jump to full article: Cherokee Phoenix, 2009-08-13
Author: Christina Good Voice Staff Writer
Intro: The Tribal Council sustained Principal Chief Chad Smith's veto of an act that would have provided monthly tax rebates to Cherokee Nation-licensed border smoke shops during an Aug. 10 meeting at the Tribal Complex.
By a 9-8 vote, the act didn't get the required two-thirds majority to override Smith's veto.
Sponsored by Dist. 9 Tribal Councilor Chuck Hoskin, the act would have protected the "viability of Cherokee Nation licensed smoke shops that are designated as a 'border' smoke shop" by giving the shops a monthly rebate.
According to the act, border shops would have received $1.50 back from the tribe for each carton of cigarettes sold. The rebate would have been in effect for 18 months or until a neighboring state's tax rate increased, the act states.
Border shops are tribally licensed smoke shops located within 20 miles of the Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas state lines. Border shop owners have said they have lost business under the tribe's current tobacco compact with the state, which raised cigarette prices at those locations by 61 cents per pack.
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