STATEMENT: Assemblyman Dave Townsend on dropping taxes on Indian sales
“A recent report indicating that Governor Paterson’s administration has quietly ‘written off’ collecting sales taxes on cigarettes sold to non-tribal customers on New York’s Indian reservations is damaging both to the rule of law in the Empire State as well as the state of our finances for the remainder of the fiscal year,” said Assemblyman David Townsend (R,WF-Sylvan Beach).
“It is outrageous to consider that another governor has again failed to enforce our tax laws even when faced with a $2.1 billion deficit. This adds at least another $65 million in lost revenue until the new fiscal year begins next April 1. New York loses approximately $1 billion annually due to non-enforcement of our sales-tax laws. When Governor Paterson convenes a special session in September – a mid-year attempt to reduce the deepening state budget deficit – I will renew my call to immediately begin enforcing the law on all state Indian reservations in order to collect this much-needed revenue. We cannot allow New York to slide deeper into debt because our state government allows a special-interests-dominated segment to ignore the law. I strongly urge the governor to reverse his decision.” |
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