Department of Taxation and Finance of N. Y. v. Milhelm Attea & Bros., 512 U.S. 61, 11 (1994)

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Cite as: 512 U. S. 61 (1994)

Opinion of the Court

fully in hand that no room remains for state laws imposing additional burdens upon traders." 380 U. S., at 690. Therefore, Arizona's tax "would to a substantial extent frustrate the evident congressional purpose of ensuring that no burden shall be imposed upon Indian traders for trading with Indians on reservations except as authorized by Acts of Congress or by valid regulations promulgated under those Acts." Id., at 691. See also Central Machinery Co., 448 U. S., at 163-166 (tax on proceeds of sale of farm machinery to tribe pre-empted by § 261).

Although language in Warren Trading Post suggests that no state regulation of Indian traders can be valid, our subsequent decisions have "undermine[d]" that proposition. See Central Machinery, 448 U. S., at 172 (Powell, J., dissenting). Thus, in Moe, we upheld a Montana law that required Indian retailers on tribal land to collect a state cigarette tax imposed on sales to non-Indian consumers. We noted that the Indian smokeshop proprietor's competitive advantage over other retailers depended "on the extent to which the non-Indian purchaser is willing to flout his legal obligation to pay the tax. Without the simple expedient of having the retailer collect the sales tax from non-Indian purchasers, it is clear that wholesale violations of the law by the latter class will go virtually unchecked." 425 U. S., at 482. In contrast to the tax in Warren Trading Post, which fell directly upon an Indian trader, the cigarette tax in Moe fell upon a class— non-Indians—whom the State had power to tax. 425 U. S., at 483. We approved Montana's "requirement that the Indian tribal seller collect a tax validly imposed on non-Indians" as a "minimal burden designed to avoid the likelihood that in its absence non-Indians purchasing from the tribal seller will avoid payment of a concededly lawful tax." Ibid.

In Colville, we upheld in relevant part a more comprehensive Washington State cigarette tax enforcement scheme that required tribal retailers selling goods on the reservation

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