Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

News

Surprise! Indian Reservations Still Sell Untaxed Cigarettes

Jaya Saxena

Published Sep 18, 2010

Modified Sep 18, 2010

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Never miss a story

Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

Jaya Saxena

Published Sep 18, 2010

Modified Sep 18, 2010

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

So, when Indian chiefs denounce the state's plan to collect taxes on their cigarettes as an act of war, one Indian nation takes the Governor to federal court to block tax collection, and the Governor predicts a violent "uprising" when the times comes to collect, what would you predict would happen on Indian reservations when nobody is looking? Is it that they would continue to sell untaxed cigarettes? Surely, you jest.

An undercover investigation into Long Island's Poospatuck reservation showed vendors selling dozens of cartons of cigarettes to an investigator claiming to be a man from Brooklyn looking to resell them. The investigator was offered cartons of Newports at $52 each; In the city, the same carton can go for $120. The two transactions caught on camera yielded 60 untaxed cartons, which cost the state $3,500. Check out the video below:

Under state law, Indian reservations are allowed to buy cigarettes untaxed for their own use, but anyone buying from them must pay $4.35 in state tax and another $1.50 if they're in the city. Bloomberg said, “These lawbreakers are robbing our tax coffers and making cigarettes cheaper and more attractive, especially to teenagers,” and accused them of aiding bootleggers. The video has reportedly inspired Bloomberg to escalate his campaign to collect $1 billion in back taxes from the state's reservations. "These are not victimless crimes - they have real costs to our economy, our health and our quality of life." But they do make the political climate ripe for cowboys and Indians metaphors.

Bloomberg blamed the state's economic problems on the sales, saying, "So when you read about the governor saying that he's going to lay off people, when you read about the city saying we can't afford a workforce this size, this is one of the reasons why we can't afford it." So is Bloomberg saying that to fund the state we should be buying cigarettes? Because if that's the case we might like to enjoy them in a park.

Tagged

cigarette tax

indian reservation

investigation

long island

mayor bloomberg

posspatuck reservation

untaxed cigarettes

Jaya Saxena

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE news

MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says

In some cases, the damage was “clearly not recent."

Stephen Nessen

Published Oct 19, 2026 at 5:22 p.m. ET

High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial

Manhattan prosecutors say Ulrich’s predecessor at the buildings department will testify in the trial against him.

David Brand

News

High-ranking NYC officials to testify in ex-buildings boss Eric Ulrich's corruption trial

Manhattan prosecutors say Ulrich’s predecessor at the buildings department will testify in the trial against him.

David Brand

Mamdani launches new team to help NYers keep SNAP, Medicaid benefits

Caroline Lewis

Riders at 53rd St. station where man was fatally shot say they worry about gun violence

Ramsey Khalifeh

These are the NYC neighborhoods that will get free 2-K next fall

Karen Yi

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .