SCIA Hearing on Tax Burdens on Tribes

Here is the witness list (prepared testimony linked to the witness name):

Witnesses

Panel # 1
The Honorable John Yellow Bird Steele
President
Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge, SD

The Honorable Athena Sanchey-Yallup
Secretary of the Tribal Council, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
Toppenish, WA

Panel # 2
Mr. Aaron Klein
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Coordination
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC

Ms. Christie J. Jacobs
Director
Office of Indian Tribal Governments, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department ofthe Treasury, Washington, DC

Panel # 3
Ms. Lynn Malerba
Chief of Mohegan Tribe
on behalf of the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc., Nashville, TN

Mr. William Lomax
President
Native American Finance Officers Association, Washington, DC

Senate Finance Committee Testimony on Tax Reform

Here:

Member Statements

Max Baucus 
(D-MT)
Orrin G. Hatch
(R-UT)

Witness Testimony

Ms. Sarah Hall Ingram, Commissioner, Tax Exempt and Govenment Entities, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC
The Honorable Robert Odawi Porter, President, Seneca Nation of Indians, Salamanca, NY
Dr. Lindsay G. Robertson, Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law, Norman, OK
Dr. Steven Maguire, Specialist in Public Finance, Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC

Arizona SCT Briefs in Ariz. Dept. of Revenue v. South Point Energy

Well, petition for review stage anyway:

South Point Petition for Review

Arizona Response

The lower court materials are here.

Federal Court Dismisses Effort by Puyallup Woman to Avoid State Wholesale Cigarette Taxes

Here are the materials in Matheson v. Smith (W.D. Wash.):

DCT Order Dismissing Matheson Complaint

Matheson Motion for PI

State Motion to Dismiss

News Coverage of “Chaos” Created by Local Impoundment of Akwesasne Tribal Smokes Destined for Out-of-State

Here.

An excerpt:

An odd thing about the seizures, which have affected several native  manufacturers that are paying licensing fees to the federal government and to  the Mohawk tribal government, is that it is in conflict with a state tax  department memo. The memo comes up frequently in the HCI litigation and was  placed into the record in a separate tobacco arrest case. Written in July 2011  by the leader of the tax department’s criminal division, it specifically says  that untaxed native-made cigarettes bound for reservations in New York or  outside of New York should not be seized.

The memo is irrelevant, according to an assistant to Attorney General Eric  Schneiderman, who is defending the State Police in the case. “All cigarettes  within New York State are presumed to be subject to tax until the contrary is  established,” said Aaron  M. Baldwin, in a brief. He said that only a licensed cigarette agent can  possess untaxed cigarettes in New York and that agent must show proof of a legal  sale exempt from taxes. The brief suggests that HCI could resell the Signals to  customers in New York, thereby denying New York required taxes. The driver of  the seized Signals shipment told State Police that he often delivers cigarettes  from the Winnebago reservation in Nebraska to the Poospatuck reservation on Long  Island, according to court documents.

Continue reading

HCI Distribution Sues New York State to Recover Confiscated Truck Loaded with Native-Manufactured Smokes

Here are the materials in HCI Distribution v. New York State Police (N.Y. Sup. Ct.):

2012-02-28 Order to show cause

2012-02-28 Final Verified Petition

2012-02-27 Tarbell Affidavit (Executed)

2012-02-28 Guerrero Affidavit (Executed)

2012-03-01 Amended RJI

1 State Police – Cover Letter

2 State Police – Answer

3 State Police – Exhibits

4 State Police – Memorandum of Law

5 State Police – Appendix Unreported Cases

6 State Police – Affidavits and Affirmations

7 State Police – NEB AAG Affd w Exhibits

Mashantucket Pequot Prevails in Tax Dispute with Town of Ledyard et al.

Here is the order.

Available briefs are here.

Cert Petition in Comenout v. Washington — Tax Case

Here.

Here are the questions presented:

1. Did the court below err by holding that the State of Washington has jurisdiction to charge a state cigarette tax crime against a Quinault Indian and other Indians allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes at the Quinault Indian’s trust allotment located outside the Quinault Indian Reservation boundaries?

2. Did the court below err in refusing to apply the federal law definition of Indian country, 18 U.S.C. § 1151(c)?

3. Did the court below err in holding that the State of Washington, an optional Public Law 280 state, had state tax crime criminal jurisdiction of enrolled Indians on trust lands?

4. Did the court below err in holding that Washington law, Wash.Rev.Code 37.12.010 through 060, was exempt from the Quinault Tribe’s retrocession of state jurisdiction?

SCOTUSblog: Ute Mountain Ute v. Padilla a Petition to Watch

Here (along with briefs).

Available Materials in the Mashantucket Pequot–Town of Ledyard Tax Dispute

Here:

Mashantucket Pequot Motion for Summary J

Mashantucket Pequot Opposition to Town’s Motion for Summary J

Mashantucket Pequot Reply