HOGANSBURG, N.Y. (AP) – A growing number of cigarette dealers on New York's Indian reservations say they will try to avoid new state taxes by halting sales of most major brands.

The state is slated to begin taxing shipments of cigarettes to the reservations for the first time on Sept. 1.

Several tribal authorities have gone to court in an attempt to block collection.

In the meantime, some smoke shops on the Onondaga and St. Regis Mohawk reservations say they will deal with the new rules by no longer buying cigarettes from wholesalers who distribute national brands.

Instead, they will stock their stores with native brands manufactured on the reservation.

The state currently has no mechanism for collecting taxes on those types of cigarettes, although people could be prosecuted for transporting them off the reservation in large quantities.

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Information from: Watertown Daily Times,
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com