- Capitol Confidential - New York Politics -
Jump to full article: Albany (NY) Times-Union, 2009-11-16
Author: Rick Karlin
Intro: In what might be a sign that budget talks are really stalled and lawmakers are starting to — depending on who you talk to — flail about desperately or think outside the box, Senate Finance Chair Carl Kruger walked a letter to Gov. David Paterson's second-floor office demanding that he start collecting taxes on cigarettes sold on Native American lands.
Such a move, Kruger said, would generate $1.6 billion a year, with $135 million in December alone.
The Indian tax issue has been around for years despite lawmakers' passing legislation to collect the tax. So far, that effort has been stymied by the likelihood of endless litigation over the argument that the taxes don't apply to sovereign Indian lands, and the fear of violent protests by Native groups. Past actions have included the closure of the state Thruway; some of the largest Native American lands are along the Thruway in central and western regions.
Kruger compared that fear to the possibility that suburban homeowners could create an uprising and halt highway traffic in protest over their property taxes. "Everybody has to pay their fair share," Kruger said.� "We want taxes collected. It would be an instant cash flow infusion."
Not everyone agrees, most pointedly the Paterson Administration, which has typically fielded Indian tax calls more from Republicans than Democrats.
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