MVSKOKE RESERVATION – Tribal tobacco shop owners on the Mvskoke Reservation can now breathe a sigh of relief after weeks of uncertainty. A Muscogee (Creek) Nation Tribal tax on tobacco products, which was scheduled to go into effect on Sunday, March 1, was postponed and then cancelled until further notice.
The original memo informing Tribal tobacco shop owners of an upcoming tax was sent on Feb. 10, just 18 days before the original implementation date of March 1.
According to a memo sent to shop owners on Thursday, Feb. 26, by MCN Tax Commissioner Mary Mashunkashey, the anticipated new implementation date was Wednesday, April 1. However, a subsequent memo from Mashunkashey, sent on Wednesday, March 4, informed shop owners that the collection had been cancelled until further notice.
The first postponement memo, from Feb. 26, explained, “This postponement is intended to allow additional time to work through discussions and concerns that have been brought to our attention and to finalize outstanding implementation matters.” The memo further stated that the tax was discussed at the MCN National Council Business Finance and Justice Committee meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Mvskoke Media can report that the tax wasn’t discussed during the open meeting, but the committee did go into executive session.
Broken Arrow/Mingo Tobacco Outlet owner Trevor Taylor was pleased with the outcome of the tax. However, he explained, tobacco shop owners are still in a bind because the Nation has yet to sign a new compact with the state. The last compact expired on Monday, March 31.
“Although this is good news for the current situation, there is still a lot of work to be done to lift the MCN Tobacco Industry out of the hole that it presently sits in,” Taylor said. “With some outlets experiencing Gross Sales declines of over 20% and Cigarette Sales Volume declines of over 40%, it is the hope of the Licensed Operators that diplomacy and compromise will overcome political grandstanding.”
Mvskoke Media reached out to the MCN Tax Commission for comment on the Tribal tax on tobacco products, but has not heard anything back at the time this story was published.
