BLYN, WA: Jamestown S'Klallam to collect cigarette taxes & keep them

BY MARK MOREY

BLYN -- The Jamestown S'Klallam tribe plans to devote cigarette tax revenues to health and education programs now that the state has surrendered its collection authority, tribal leaders said Friday.

Gov. Gary Locke last week signed a bill to allow the Jamestown and 13 other state tribes to collect taxes on cigarettes purchased by non-Indian customers at reservation shops.

The legislation, brokered over the past few years, ends a long-running dispute between the state and tribes about whether the tribes were properly bringing in the cigarette tax revenue of 82.5 cents per pack.

``I think this is a real win-win proposition,'' Jamestown Chairman Ron Allen said Friday. ``It just cleaned up a legal conflict between us.''

The Jamestown tribe sells about $100,000 worth of cigarettes annually at its 7 Cedars Casino, 270756 U.S. Highway 101.

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