Stealing from the Poor to Give to the Rich: Why New York Should Abandon Attempts to Collect Fuel Taxes on Reservations

Abstract:     
From an author that has spent his entire life living on the fringe of a Western New York Indian reservation, this article examines the dramatic economic and social impacts that the enforcement of state taxes on reservation fuel sales will have on the already impoverished Upstate New York Indians. The article begins with an examination of the reservations themselves, detailing both the geographic and economic characteristics of New York reservations. Next, the article examines New York's authority, under not-so-convincing court precedent, to impose sales and excise taxes on fuel sold on reservations. Then, the article explains the flaws of recent proposed legislation that would have, perhaps unconstitutionally, imposed taxes on reservation sales. The article concludes with an explanation of the reliance market theory, which is specific to the small scale economic effects of non-enforcement on reservations, and with a plea to New York voters to voice their opposition to recent attempts to enforce taxes on reservations.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 28

Keywords: Indian, gasoline, taxation, New York

JEL Classification: K34

Accepted Paper Series