Seminoles might see tax break

It's been 30 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled states could tax cigarette sales to non-tribe members on Native American reservations, and seven years since Florida has enforced a $1.34 per pack excise tax.

Now state Sen. Greg Evers, R-Pensacola, has taken the first step to once again open up tax-free cigarette sales to everyone. Evers introduced a resolution April 23 encouraging Florida Gov. Rick Scott to sit down with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and get rid of the state tax.

The resolution is news to Gary Bitner, spokesman for the Seminole Tribe, which maintains six state reservations, one of which is in Tampa. Bitner first heard about it the day after the resolution was filed through a research service, he tells Coffee Talk. He didn't receive an immediate reaction from the Seminole Tribe, which owns Hard Rock Cafe International Inc., and seven casinos.

Before the tax was imposed, state reservations sold 25 million packs of cigarettes each year, according to the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation. That was an annual revenue loss of $33.5 million for the state.

The resolution would not have the force of law, nor would it require Scott to open negotiations. However, if passed by the legislative body, it would officially express the Senate's desire to have those taxes removed.