BOISE, ID - Idaho lawmakers have been considering taxing cigarettes sold on Indian reservations, the Native American Times reports.

The bill would raise the state tax on cigarettes by $1.25 per pack and include a provision to have tribes adopt the same increase.

Idaho??s state tax on cigarettes is currently 57 cents per pack. While some Idaho-area tribes voluntarily charge the same tax, they have discretion to control their own prices, and some assess a lower tax than the state rate.

House Speaker Lawrence Denney argued that the existing system creates an unfair advantage for tribal retailers over non-tribal merchants.

"If the tax is exactly the same, there wouldn??t be a competitive advantage to buying cigarettes on the reservation," Denney said. "This is something joint leadership has been talking about since before the session began."

Denney said reservation sales account for more than 40 percent of all cigarettes sold in the state, despite American Indians comprising just 1.6 percent of the population.

Idaho tribes are allowed to retain the tax collected on cigarettes sold in Idaho.

Coeur d??Alene Tribe Legislative Director Helo Hancock argues that the state cannot legally require sovereign tribes to charge the higher tax.

"I think there would be significant legal obstacles," he said.