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Representatives of the Coeur d4Alene, Nez Perce, and Shoshone-Bannock tribes converged on the Statehouse on Monday to show their opposition to two bills that would repeal their current sales tax exemption and add the state cigarette tax to smokes sold by tribal retailers.
The tribes said the changes would have a negative impact on tribal economies and wouldn4t help state revenue in the long run.
We believe this legislation will do the exact opposite of its intent, said Wesley Edmo of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.

Most of the revenue the tribes rely on comes from cigarette sales and gambling, Edmo said. The tax breaks allow most tribal stores to offer cigarettes at a lower price than at non-Indian stores.
But the Nez Perce Tribe has its own tax on cigarettes that helps fund college scholarships, law enforcement, burial assistance and other services for the Native Americans who live on the Nez Perce reservation.
The cigarette tax which even the bills4 drafters predict would cut millions of dollars from tribal revenues could also affect reservation jobs, the tribes said. They said 75 percent of cigarette retail-related jobs would be lost, and that in the slumping economy, the results would be devastating.
Roselynn Yazzie, who works in cigarette retail so she can save money for college, said the cigarette tax bill could jeopardize her job. She also received a college scholarship from the tribal funds.
Edmo said legislators could repeal some of the 79 other tax exemptions in Idaho that would not affect so many people as the tax on cigarettes would.
But supporters of the legislation like Meridian GOP Sen. Hal Bunderson and former North Idaho lawmaker Don Pischner said the measures would eliminate unfair competitive business advantages that Indian retailers have over those retailers who have to tax their buyers.
Since tribes in Idaho can sell anything without the burden of tax, there are huge price differences in items like cars and expensive equipment, supporters said. This cuts the state4s funds short, because more people buy from Indian retailers and the state gains no taxes from those purchases.

INDIANAPOLIS The General Assembly has approved legislation intended to prevent minors in Indiana from buying cigarettes over the Internet and to help the state collect taxes due on Web-based tobacco sales.
The Senate voted 48-0 yesterday to accept changes made by the House to Senate Bill 504.
The bill now goes to Gov. Frank O'Bannon, who can sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature.
His deputy press secretary, Andrew Stoner, said that the governor supports the bill's concepts but that attorneys must review the legislation before O'Bannon makes a decision about it.
"The governor has been very clear about the collection of taxes on remote sales, whether they are over the Internet or from a catalog," Stoner said. "He believes those taxes should be collected. Otherwise, those businesses have an unfair edge over those that are in Indiana."
O'Bannon also supports efforts to deter sales to minors, Stoner said.
SB 504 requires that Web-based companies obtain a signed statement from buyers attesting to their identity and date of birth.

The seller must then verify that the customer is 18 years or older by using government or private databases or identification cards, such as driver's licenses. The bill also requires the company that ships the cigarettes to verify that the buyer is at least 18 years old.
"We're trying to make sure that underage sales do not occur," said Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, a co-author of the bill. SB 504 requires that cigarettes be purchased with a personal check, credit card or debit card. The credit card statement also must reflect that the purchase is cigarettes.
Lanane said he hopes that will help parents who might let their children use their credit cards know if cigarettes are bought. The legislation also attempts to collect taxes on Internet sales. Lawmakers fear that after Indiana raised its per-pack tax on cigarettes, from 15.5cents to 55cents, some buyers have turned to the Internet where there are some 200 retailers to find cheaper smokes. According to a survey last year by the federal General Accounting Office, most of those online retailers don't comply with the federal Jenkins Act, which requires that any person or company (other than a licensed distributor) selling or shipping cigarettes to a buyer in another state report the sale to that state's tax agency.
According to an analysis by Forrester Research Inc., Web-based tobacco sales could reach $5billion by 2005, costing states $1.4billion in tax revenue annually. Lawmakers have not developed an estimate for the tax dollars Indiana may be losing to Internet sales. But John Keeler, a lobbyist for Philip Morris Inc., has told lawmakers the amount is significant enough to warrant legislation.

SB 504 requires Web-based cigarette retailers to either collect Indiana's 55-cent-per-pack excise tax or notify the buyer that the tax is due. The bill also mirrors the Jenkins Act by requiring that the Web site provide the buyer's name and address and amount of purchase to the state so the Indiana Department of Revenue can send out a bill for the tax. "Hopefully, we're going to be able to collect these taxes," Lanane said. The GAO study found that several states have taken steps to collect such taxes but so far have been unsuccessful. But some states are becoming more aggressive. New York City which along with the state imposes excise and sales taxes totaling $3.33 per pack filed a lawsuit this year against several Web sites, including two based in Kentucky. The suit is seeking $15million in damages three times the city's estimated losses in tax revenue.