Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 10, 2001
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke signs cigarette tax contract with Squaxin Island Tribe

OLYMPIA — Gov. Gary Locke and Squaxin Island Tribal Chair David Lopeman today signed a contract in which the tribe agreed to impose its own tribal cigarette tax in lieu of the state cigarette and sales tax.

The contract is the first to be signed since the Legislature earlier this year authorized the governor to negotiate agreements with up to 16 interested Indian tribes representing more than half of the federally-recognized tribes in Washington state.

Under state law, it is illegal for anyone to possess cigarettes that don’t bear a Washington state tax stamp, but with this contract the state agrees not to impose its tax if the tribe imposes its own tax equal to the combined cigarette and sales tax. The tribe has three years to ramp up to the state tax rate.

The tribe sells cigarettes at the Kamilche Trading Post and Little Creek Casino, both about 15 miles from Olympia on U.S. 101.

Locke said the agreement represents a significant step toward resolving a decades-old dispute between the state and the tribes regarding the sales of untaxed cigarettes to non-Indians.

“I’m pleased that we’ve been able to reach this agreement in the spirit of the 1989 Centennial Accord,” Locke said. “We are working toward resolving through government-to-government negotiations what we’ve been unable to solve through enforcement and litigation.”

“This compact is an important step in the government-to-government relationship between the Squaxin Island Tribe and Washington state,” Lopeman said. “It is a good example of how the tribe and the state can work together to resolve our differences, and how much better our relationship can be when we work together than when we use enforcement or go to court. This is a good step for the Squaxin Island Tribe, and hopefully for other tribes.”

The Department of Revenue, which negotiated the contract on behalf of the governor’s office, will now begin negotiations with other interested tribes. This includes the Nisqually Tribe, Tulalip Tribes, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Quinault Nation, Jamestown S'Klallam Indian Tribe, Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, Stillaguamish Tribe, Sauk-Suiattle Tribe, Skokomish Indian Tribe, Nooksack Indian Tribe, Lummi Nation, Chehalis Confederated Tribes, Upper Skagit Tribe, Yakama Nation and Suquamish Tribe.

It will be up to each tribe to decide whether it wishes to pursue an agreement.

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Related Links:
- Washington State Department of Revenue
- Squaxin Island Tribe

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