News

Cigarette kiosks snuffed out in New York

July 15, 2002

ONEIDA, N.Y. -- An upstate New York Indian tribe which installed touchscreen, cigarette-ordering kiosks in convenience stores in April to circumvent the state's cigarette taxes has pulled the plug on the machines.

The Oneida Nation of Indians installed three kiosks at Yellow Goose convenience stores in the Buffalo area beginning in April, and had plans to add three more units. The kiosks connected to the tribe's Web site, which sold tax-free cigarettes. The tribe made the move in response to a 39-cent-per-pack increase in New York's smoking tax that was implemented April 3.

According to NACS Daily, the New York State Department of Tax and Finance complained that the kiosks were not on reservation property and were thus subject to state tax laws. The state attorney general's office in April argued that the kiosks were illegal because they were located at non-Indian owned retail outlets.

Tribal officials argued that the kiosks were no different than using a personal computer to access the tribe's site, but agreed to remove the kiosks at least temporarily.