YAKIMA — A Yakama tribal cigarette maker could owe the federal government $30 million in tobacco taxes under a recent federal court ruling.
Yakima Herald-Republic reported that the judge in Spokane ruled last week that products made by King Mountain Tobacco in White Swan are subject to federal taxes.
King Mountain owner Delbert Wheeler along with the Yakama Nation sought a court order last year to block the Alcohol, Tobacco and Trade Bureau from assessing federal excise taxes on cigarettes manufactured on tribal land.
The FBI raided the business in February of 2011 and the government is suing King Mountain in federal court for taxes unpaid since 2009.
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