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Florida state officials try to pass an amendment to the law permitting Indian tribes to sell cigarettes exempted from taxes, by forcing Indian retailers to put a label 'Indian cigarettes' to all cigarettes sold in their shops in the desperate attempt to restrain growing sales of tax-free cigarettes distributed on Florida's Indian reservations. According to the latter amendment every non-Indian smoker that would be caught with these cigarettes would have to pay a fine of as much as $1,000 or even face a small prison term.

The need for this absurd amendment appeared when state Ways and Means Committee proposed to increase the state excise tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack. Committee members thought that should the state tax increase be approved, it would lead to dramatic growth of tax-free and thus low-priced cigarettes that can be bought across Indian reservations.

Senator Thad Altman who proposed the latter amendment stated that if it is signed into law, it would become an effective means to suppress Indian low-priced cigarettes to be distributed everywhere in Florida. He said that he had no intent to begin fining or imprisoning smokers.

In accordance with the reports by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation of Florida, every year more than 25 millions cigarette packs are sold on the territory of Seminole and Miccosukee tribes. Because of these sales the Florida treasury loses up to $8.5 million in revenue.

The state can neither ban sales of the cigarettes distributed in reservations, nor impose taxes on Indian cigarettes, since the tribes across the United States are sovereign, independent nations according to the Constitution.

In case the bill to increase the state cigarette tax from current 34 cents per pack to $ 1.34 and as well increase the tax on tobacco by a dollar per ounce would be approved by the state lawmakers, the revenue is expected to make up around $1 billion.

However, the revenue may be significantly diminished because of enormous number of cigarette purchases made by smokers on reservations territories or through Internet. The amount of the loss in the revenue is estimated to be around $70 million in the fiscal year of 2009.

State analysts consider fines on any non-Indian buyers of the untaxed cigarettes would probably decrease the state losses by 30 percent or even more, since it would be very difficult to enforce this measure. Nowadays, the smoke shops located on Indian reservations buy cigarettes directly from cigarette companies for retail sales. According to the Florida Senate proposal, these cigarettes would be labeled by 'Indian cigarettes' stamp and would be permitted to be sold only to members of Indian tribes that count approximately 3,500 people in Florida.

Anyone except tribal members caught possessing or distributing tax-free cigarettes would have to pay $1,000 in fine or accused with a misdemeanor of a first-degree.

Miccosukee tribe spokesperson declared that lawmakers should work more efficiently on the problems of the state budget, instead of simply taxing everything they see. He also reminded Florida authorities that they should examine the agreement on gambling between the tribe and the state. 'The tribe understands the Senate desire to collect more money but it also thinks that State could raise much more revenue by signing the agreement into law,' admitted Jacob Benter, Miccosukee Tribal Council member.

The Amendment author initially even proposed to provide local police with the power to enforce the law and by sharing the profit from seized cigarettes with enforcement agencies. However, many politicians criticized this point in the proposal declaring that the state would return to the times of “cash register justice”. Therefore, lawmakers removed this proposal from the bill.

At the same time there was only one senator who dared to openly criticize the proposal by saying that it would be ridiculous to send people in prison only because they smoke cigarettes and try to save money by buying less expensive cigarettes on Indian lands. The Florida Legislature has not approved the state tax increase yet.