Authorities in both counties raided the Lakeside Trading Post stores in late November because the Cayugas did not pay state excise tax on the cigarettes. The state's Indian tribes say [image-nocss] they are sovereign and exempt from the New York's tax rules.
The Cayugas decided to reopen the stores after two recent favorable court rulings.
A state appeals court ruled last week that the tribe cannot be criminally charged for not paying cigarette taxes. The midlevel appellate division court in Rochester granted the Cayugas' request for a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking Cayuga and Seneca counties from prosecuting the felony tax evasion charges.
The Cayugas requested the preliminary injunction after state Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Fisher ruled in December that the tribe does not have sovereign rights to sell tax-free cigarettes at its stores. Fisher also said the counties could prosecute the Cayugas on tax-evasion charges.
The Cayugas closed their Lake Side Trading stores after county authorities raided them on November 25. County officials said the stores were violating state law by selling cigarettes without charging the required tax and owed $485,000 in state excise taxes.
The Cayugas claim they are exempt from collecting the taxes because their businesses are protected by their sovereign nation status. The tribe contends its stores are located on ancestral land that is part of its land claim against New York state.
The Cayuga nation's appeal of Fisher's ruling is set to be heard in May.
The appeals court also ruled that the Cayugas could try to regain possession of the 17,600 cartons of seized, unstamped cigarettes.
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