A New York appeals court has lifted a temporary order blocking the state from collecting taxes on cigarettes sold by Native American stores to non-Indian customers.
On Sept. 1, a state appellate judge in Rochester restored a restraining order that barred the state from collecting the $4.35-per-pack tax. But the court's five-judge panel took up the case last week and said Tuesday the state properly approved regulations for the levy.
A federal judge in Buffalo has already temporarily blocked tax collections from two Indian nations — the Senecas and Cayugas. The judge was holding a hearing Tuesday in that case.
