taxation – Page 24 – Turtle Talk

This webinar explore the effect of the new Interior regulations excluding state taxes on business leases in Indian Country. The panel will describe recent changes to the regulations and chart the course of the litigation ongoing in several states over the new regulations. The panel will also discuss strategies being considered to resolve this longstanding state-tribal conflict outside of the ongoing litigation.

Featured Speakers

Wendy S. Pearson, Pearson Law Offices PS, Seattle, WA

Bruce Zimmerman, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Pendleton, OR

Joseph C. Lennihan, Attorney At Law, Santa Fe, NM

Shana Barehand, Tribal Liaison, Washington Department of Revenue, Olympia, WA

For more information and to register click here.

PLEASE NOTE: To receive CLE credit you must be logged into the webinar interface for the ENTIRE program (including the Q&A). Partial credit is not available for this program. Please see the CLE Informaton page for more details

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Indian Reservation v. McKenna Cert Petition

February 11, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here:

cert petition

Question presented:

Whether federal courts called upon to enforce Indian treaty protections in tribal challenges to State regulation may enter judgment against the Indian Tribe without considering evidence and entering findings of fact on the Indians’ understanding of the United States’ treaty promises.

Lower court materials here.

Washington COA Affirms Revocation of Colville Resident’s State Tobacco Wholesaler Certification

February 11, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Matheson v. State Dept. of Revenue (Wash. App.):

D2 45485-8-II Unpublished Opinion

And the briefs:

454858-Appellant’s Brief

454858-Reply Brief

454858-Respondent’s Brief

Federal Forfeiture Action over $400,000 of NY Indian Tobacco Retailer

February 6, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in United States v. $400,000 (W.D. N.Y.):

1 Complaint for Forfeiture

Excerpts:

During the investigation, it was determined that the parties involved in the shipping of the contraband cigarettes in interstate commerce also filed false information to the appropriate taxation authorities as required under the Jenkins Act, Title 15, United States Code, Sections 375-378. All cigarette sales made by a stamping agent are required by New York State law to be recorded on a form known as Form CG which had to be sent on a monthly basis to the NYSDT in Albany, New York, with a certificate that the information contained therein was true and correct.

And:

During the time period of September 24, 2012 – January 14, 2013, AARON PIERCE through his corporation, AJ’s Wholesale LLC (“hereafter “AJ’s”) sold 403,413 cartons of cigarettes in a manner designed to make it look on paper as though the untaxed cigarettes were legitimately obtained through Ho-Chunk, Inc. (“HCID”) a tribal cigarette and tobacco distributor, a corporation operated by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, as well as other Native American cigarette and tobacco suppliers.

Finally:

Ho-Chunk, Inc. is the parent company of HCI Logistics (HCIL) which is a commercial transportation company that HCID would use to transport product from the HCID warehouse in Winnebago, Nebraska. Neither HCID nor HCIL are licensed tobacco wholesalers or state stamping agents in Nebraska or New York State.

Anadarko Petroleum Wins Indian (sorta) Tax Case in Utah SCT

February 2, 2015Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Anadarko Petroleum Corp. v. Utah State Tax Commission:

Anadarko150130

An excerpt:

This is a tax case that comes before us on appeal from a formal decision of the Utah State Tax Commission (Commission). Utah law imposes a severance tax on owners of oil and gas interests. The tax rate an owner must pay depends on the fair market value of the owner‟s interest. The question presented in this case concerns how the value of such an interest is to be calculated. Petitioners Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore L.P. (collectively Anadarko) argue that the Commission improperly disallowed deductions they made for tax-exempt federal, state, and Indian tribe royalty interests. Based on the plain meaning and structure of the severance tax statute, we agree and reverse the Commission‟s determination.