Here are the materials in this Indian taxation case:
Poospatuck Indian Reservation
Materials in the New York City Smokeshop Case
Here are the materials in the New York City v. Golden Feather Smoke Shop case (E.D. N.Y.), reported here. Earlier materials are here.
NYC Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Golden Feather Opposition to Motion
Peace Pipe Smoke Shop Opposition
NYC Reply Brief in Support of Motion (Attachment: IMO Gutlove & Shirvant)
NYT’s Article on New York State’s Tobacco Fight with Indian Tribes
From the NYTs:
A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that a group of tobacco vendors on an Indian reservation on Long Island cannot sell tax-free cigarettes to the general public until a court rules in a closely watched legal battle between the reservation and New York City.
A temporary injunction issued by Judge Carol B. Amon of Federal District Court in Brooklyn gave the city at least a temporary victory in its efforts to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue.
“The city will go after every dollar that is owed to city taxpayers,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said in a statement on Wednesday. Under Judge Amon’s ruling, a group of cigarette businesses on the Poospatuck Indian Reservation near Mastic can sell tax-free cigarettes only to tribe members, for personal use, until a verdict is reached in a federal lawsuit the city filed in September.
The judge stayed the ruling for 30 days to give the vendors time to appeal.
“The judge’s ruling is completely wrong,” said Harry Wallace, a lawyer and the chief of the Unkechaug Indian Nation, which is on the Poospatuck reservation, adding that it ignored the Indian nation’s sovereignty.
Turtle Talk 