http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/tribes.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=7f905843-1c53-4d50-897e-77741f8e0d21 http://tobacco.org/news/270202.html Two Calgary gambling companies want the province to close a smoking-ban loophole that permits gamblers to light up at first nation casinos. Gamehost Income Fund, which owns the Deerfoot Inn and Casino, says it made nearly a million dollars less in the second quarter of 2008 -- a slide of more than five per cent compared to last year. Sam Switzer, who owns the Elbow River Casino, estimates his profits are down by at least 25 per cent. . . . After Alberta's smoking ban took effect, both the Tsuu T'ina Nation, which opened the $40-million Grey Eagle Casino last December, and the Stoney Nakoda Nation, which launched the $60-million Nakoda Entertainment Resort in the spring, invoked federal bylaw exemptions for native lands. Vancouver Sun sunnewstips@png.canwest.com (Canwest News Service ) Canada Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4657411a8153.html http://tobacco.org/news/270165.html A government-funded trust says early results from its latest initiative give it hope it will finally break the cycle of Maori smoking. The Quit Group, set up to help New Zealanders quit smoking, is particularly focused on reducing the number of Maori smokers and launched a text based campaign in June in which smokers received personalised messages to help them quit. Despite a number of previous Quit Group campaigns, Maori still have the highest smoking prevalence rate in the country. Auckland Tobacco Control Research Centre director Marewa Glover thinks the new text option will appeal to young urban Maori. Independent Newspapers Ltd. / STUFF New Zealand Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://news10now.com/content/politics/122024/state-looking-to-tax-indian-tobacco-products/Default.aspx http://tobacco.org/news/270145.html Seneca officials say its burden their people shouldn't have to bear. Fewer customers are willing to pay the increased price. "We're not part of the problem, we're actually part of the solution to New York's economic woes right now," Nephew said. The Indian Nation contends it’s a major contributor to the Western New York economy, raking in $313 million in tobacco sales in 2007. They say if the state taxed those sales, it would be a $71 million loss to their economy. State looking to tax Indian tobacco products Lawmakers are preparing to return to Albany on Tuesday to take part in Governor Paterson's emergency economic session. News 10 Now Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2008/08/12/opinion/carole_estabrook.txt http://tobacco.org/news/270141.html Bottom line: It isn't fair or ethical to place the state's entire financial burden on smokers. The New York state economy is far too dependent on people who are sick or addicted. Consider: smokers often become very ill with exorbitant medical bills and they tend to die young, freeing up pension funds. Why would Albany care about people who are suffering when they generate so much revenue? Auburn Citizen estabrookcarole@yahoo.com (Carole Estabrook) Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/8351 http://tobacco.org/news/270128.html Tribal representatives who hated the original version will dislike this one too. The anti-smoking lobby is still trying to figure out whether the bill is an improvement. The goal is the same - to collect hundreds of millions of dollars a year not currently picked up because Native American stores do not collect or remit excise and sales taxes. Albany Times-Union blogs iliu@timesunion.com (James M. Odato) Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/local/93805.php http://tobacco.org/news/270111.html The Navajo Nation recently came close to doing the right thing and beginning a smoking ban in all public areas, including its future casinos. It was close, but no cigar, as concern for casino profits took precedence over tribal health, as has been true with nearly every tribe that enters into the gaming business. Apparently, they've learned too well the ways of the white man, who also refuses to let customer or worker health concerns stand in the way of maximizing profits in his smoke-filled casinos. . . . The doors, walls and slot machines require less cleaning. And the casino never has to buy ashtrays or matches. As someone who has enjoyed concerts, dining, dancing and gambling at all four Tucson-area casinos, I've always thought the tribes were doing a disservice to their customers and their employees, many of whom are Native Americans, by allowing smoking. What's sad about it is they don't have to sacrifice people for profit. The Taos Mountain experience proves that a smoke-free casino can have both healthy profits and healthy people. Anne T. Denogean can be reached at 573-4582 and Tucson Citizen obits@tucson.com (ANNE T. DENOGEAN Tucson Citizen ) Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vpind155801603aug15,0,2012001.story http://tobacco.org/news/270098.html Gov. David Paterson should sign this latest law, which was designed to avoid any confrontation with tribes by collecting the tax from the middlemen who distribute the unstamped cigarettes to them. This kind of blatant tax avoidance only legitimizes not paying your fair share in other markets. Investigations in the past have shown that illicit profits often get entangled in other criminal enterprises. And it hurts the small convenience store and gas station operators who sell legitimate, but more expensive, packs. After signing the law, Paterson will have a stronger hand to negotiate a political solution that offers economic development with tribes, including the Poospatucks and Shinnecocks on eastern Long Island, who aren't flush with revenue from gaming. Newsday Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.sni.org/indiantreaties.html http://tobacco.org/news/270097.html The U.S. Constitution calls treaties "the Supreme Law of the Land." And yet New York State is about to violate U.S. treaties that have lasted over 200 years. The state plans to implement regulations that would impose sales tax on petroleum and tobacco products sold on Indian lands. These regulations would violate sacred treaties between the U.S. and Indian tribes. . . . We urge you to explore this topic and learn more about this issue. Tell Governor David A. Paterson how you feel. Urge the Governor to honor the supreme law of the land. Because if you break a treaty, you break the law Seneca Nation of Indians Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1446395020080815 http://tobacco.org/news/270096.html Cigarette-maker Philip Morris, supports a New York state Assembly bill that would solve a long battle over collecting taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian reservation stores by making wholesalers pay the levy, a company spokesman said on Thursday. The Indian tribes would then seek refunds for the taxes paid on any cigarettes that were sold to other Indians, explained David Sutton, a spokesman for Altria Group (MO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which owns Philip Morris. "But if you or I went as non-Native Americans consumers, the tax on the product would have already been paid on the wholesale level and they would not be entitled to a refund of that tax under this bill because you and I are not tribal members," he explained. . . . "We are demonstratively a contributor to the economy and that is what our treaties would protect," Porter said, estimating tobacco sales were as much as $200 million in 2007. He added: "The 5,000 jobs we have created through gaming or through our tobacco trade really all gets spent in western New York. Albany's effort to take that money and redistribute it downstate is probably not something most people realize, that they are going to appreciate." . . . Philip Morris wants the taxes collected, the spokesman said. "We want all of our brands sold through legitimate distribution channels with taxes paid, laws respected." Reuters Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/othercities/buffalo/stories/2008/08/11/daily6.html http://tobacco.org/news/270094.html The leader of the Seneca Nation of Indians said action by the state Senate to support a bill seeking to end the rights of Native American tribes to sell tax-free cigarettes is "veto worthy." Maurice John Sr., Seneca Nation president, said he was dismayed by the vote, taken Aug. 8, that caught everyone from lobbyists to Albany insiders by surprise. By collecting state sales tax on Native American-controlled cigarette transactions, New York officials estimated another $400 million could be added to state coffers. Triangle Business Journal Mon, 11 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/415121.html http://tobacco.org/news/270093.html Seneca Nation representatives Thursday urged the Paterson administration to back off on any plans to collect sales taxes on cigarette sales by Indian retailers. A half-dozen Seneca government officials and business leaders traveled to Albany just a week after the State Senate gave final passage to a bill aimed at ending the tax-free sales as a way to help bring in $400 million or more in uncollected tax revenue. Aides to Gov. David A. Paterson, who is vacationing, have declined to say what he might do with the legislation. He is being prodded by various sides, including Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, to sign the bill to help provide some relief from a rising budget deficit. But Seneca leaders insisted the tax collections would be illegal and harmful to the Western New York economy. Buffalo News tprecious@buffnews.com (Tom Precious - NEWS ALBANY BUREAU ) Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.nysun.com/new-york/senecas-lobby-against-proposed-cigarette-tax/83942/ http://tobacco.org/news/270076.html Days before the New York Legislature will try to stem growing budget deficits, leaders of the Seneca Nation pressed Governor Paterson's office to veto a bill that would require collecting millions of dollars in taxes on cigarettes now sold tax-free by tribes. Nothing was resolved yesterday, spokesmen for the tribe and Mr. Paterson said. AP Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/waw/press/2008/aug/gottfriedson.html http://tobacco.org/news/270071.html HENRY GOTTFRIEDSON, 61, and ALISON GOTTFRIEDSON, 56, owners of Frank's Landing Indian Discount Tobacco, pleaded guilty in U. S. District Court in Tacoma to Conspiring to Traffic in Contraband Cigarettes and Structuring Currency Transactions, in connection with a scheme to sell contraband cigarettes to the public at large without paying the applicable State of Washington taxes. The GOTTFRIEDSONs admitted to unlawfully avoiding more than $9.2 million in Washington State taxes and agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 million in cash. HENRY and ALISON GOTTFRIEDSON owned and operated the smoke shop, which did business in Olympia, Washington, as part of the Frank's Landing Indian Community. Both defendants entered pleas earlier today before U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin H. Settle. As part of the plea agreements, the GOTTFRIEDSONs admitted to conspiring from January 2001 until October 2007, to purchase, receive, and sell contraband cigarettes. Contraband cigarettes are a quantity of cigarettes which bear no Washington tax stamp . . . As part of the plea agreements, the GOTTFRIEDSONs agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 million in cash, 53,870 cartons of contraband cigarettes, and a 2007 Cadillac Escalade. They also agreed to pay restitution to the State of Washington in the amount of $9,201,982. It is a federal crime to transport, possess, or sell contraband cigarettes, whether on federal land, including tribal reservations, or elsewhere. US Department of Justice Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/444808.html http://tobacco.org/news/270070.html The owners of a Frank's Landing smoke shop pleaded guilty Wednesday to selling contraband cigarettes, striking a deal with federal prosecutors that leaves them more than $9 million in debt to the State of Washington. Henry Gottfriedson, 61, and Alison Gottfriedson, 56, both longtime residents of Frank's Landing Indian Community near the mouth of the Nisqually River, admitted to dealing in untaxed cigarettes between 2001 and 2007. . . . According to Frank's Landing residents, a portion of the profits from the smoke shop went to help finance the Wa He Lut Indian School at the Landing and also the Alesek Institute, a social services organization affiliated with Frank's Landing. After the raid in 2007, the Frank's Landing smoke shop reopened under an agreement with the Squaxin Island Tribe, which operates legal smoke shops under the terms of a compact with the state. The Nisqually Tribe, which claims jurisdiction over Frank's Landing, filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Chris Gregoire and members of the Squaxin Island Tribe, claiming the deal is illegal. Tacoma News Tribune Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theolympian.com/377/story/542933.html http://tobacco.org/news/270069.html The owners of an Olympia smoke shop pleaded guilty today for selling contraband cigarettes that cost the state more than $9.2 million in unpaid taxes, according to the U.S. government. Henry Gottfriedson, 61, and Alison Gottfriedson, 56, also pleaded guilty to scheming to structure cash deposits at local banks so their contraband sales went unnoticed by the state and Internal Revenue Service. Under plea agreements, the Gottfriedsons, who own Frank's Landing Indian Discount Tobacco, agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 million in cash, 53,870 cartons of contraband cigarettes and a 2007 Cadillac Escalade. They also agreed to pay $9,201,982 in restitution to the state -- the amount of the state cigarette taxes they failed to pay with the sale of the contraband cigarettes. The Olympian Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT