Citizen Potawatomi Nation

Citizen Potawatomi Chair Files Cert Petition in Tax Dispute

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the cert petition in Barrett v. U.S. (docket no. 09-32) — Barrett v. US Cert Petition

Questions presented:

1. Whether an Indian tribe can use Indians Claims Commission Act funds, appropriated by Congress and distributed to the tribe with a specific exemption from federal income tax, to pay federal income tax exempted salaries to elected officials the tribe is required to have under its tribal constitution.

2. Whether the imposition of a penalty by the Internal Revenue Service against the tribal chairman for sovereign legislative actions of the tribe improperly infringes on the tribe’s sovereign powers.

Lower court materials are available here.

Barrett v. United States Briefing in CA10

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the briefs in Barrett v. United States, to be heard by the Tenth Circuit:

barrett-appellant-brief

usa-appellee-brief

Lower court materials, including the opinion, are here in an earlier post.

Tribal Amicus Brief Supporting Kickapoo v. Texas Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Several tribes — Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Coquille Indian Tribe, Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, Spokane Tribe of Indians, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe — filed a joint amicus brief supporting the Kickapoo Tribe’s cert petition over the Secretarial procedures for establishing Class III gaming compacts, a rule struck down by the Fifth Circuit a few months ago. Here is the Tribal Amicus Brief. Here is the link to the Kickapoo cert petition. The State’s cert opposition is due later this month.

It is significant, of course, that the United States did not file a cert petition.

Case on Federal Taxation of Tribal Trust Funds

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation paid its chairman using interest from tax-exempt trust funds, expecting the chairman to then be exempt from federal income tax. Not so, according to the IRS — and the Western District of Oklahoma agreed.

Here are the materials:

Continue reading →