Southampton, NY
March 21, 2006
To the editor:
Anyone who visits the Shinnecock and Poospatuck Indian Reservations on Long Island will see poverty as bad as in any third world nation. The contrast between life on these reservations and surrounding neighborhoods, particularly the Hamptons, is stark.
About 15 per cent of residents on the two reservations owe their livlihood to businesses selling tax free tobacco.
A recent poll conducted by Zogby International* shows that New Yorkers support the Native American tribes' position on the sales tax issue by a large margin. Two in three New Yorkers agree with Governor Pataki’s decision to withdraw regulations that would impose taxes on goods sold on Indian reservations.
But the greed of corporate retailers knows no bounds.
The unconstitutional cigarete tax law passed by the New York State Legislature at the behest of 'convenience store' operators requires taxing of tobacco and gasoline sold to non-natives on reservations. That unjust law and the incredible law suit filed by Gristedes with its outrageous claims about indigenous support for middle east terrorism would deprive the poorest of the poor of their meager living.
Robert Zellner
Anthony Ernst
