And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1999 14:43:09 -0800
From: Tom Schlosser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Organization: Morisset Schlosser Ayer & Jozwiak, 801 2nd Ave., Ste. 1115,
Seattle, WA 98104, 206 386 5200, (206 386 7322 fax)
To: Triballaw mailing list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Sen. Gorton's March 4 bill to force tribal immunity waivers re taxes
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="------------7486729DB28A0CB3FC670E2B"
State Excise, Sales, and Transaction Tax Enforcement Act of 1999
(Introduced in the Senate)
S 550 IS
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 550
To provide for the collection of certain State taxes from an individual who
is not a member of an Indian tribe.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 4, 1999
Mr. GORTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Indian Affairs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A BILL
To provide for the collection of certain State taxes from an individual who
is not a member of an Indian tribe.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `State Excise, Sales, and Transaction Tax
Enforcement Act of 1999'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) through a long line of decisions, the United States Supreme
Court has established that States have the right to collect
lawfully imposed nondiscriminatory State excise, sales, and
transaction taxes on the purchase of a good or service from an
Indian tribe (including a tribal government or tribal
corporation) by a person who is not a member of that Indian
tribe;
(2) the collection of those State taxes has been impeded by the
assertion of tribal immunity by Indian tribes (including tribal
governments and tribal corporations) and members of Indian tribes
as a defense in Federal actions in Federal courts; and
(3) the failure of an Indian tribe (including a tribal government
or tribal corporation) or a member of an Indian tribe to act as
an agent of a State to collect such a State tax--
(A) unlawfully deprives that State of essential tax revenues
needed for making improvements to infrastructure and
ensuring the health and welfare of all of the citizens of
that State; and
(B)(i) creates a disadvantage for law-abiding businesses
that are not associated with the Indian tribe and that
fulfill an obligation to act as an agent of the State; and
(ii) as a result of that disadvantage, some of those
businesses may be forced out of business.
SEC. 3. COLLECTION OF STATE TAXES.
Section 1362 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting `(a) IN GENERAL- ' before `The district courts';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
`(b) COLLECTION OF QUALIFIED STATE TAXES BY INDIAN TRIBES-
`(1) DEFINITIONS- In this subsection:
`(A) GOOD OR SERVICE- The term `good or service' includes
any tobacco product or motor fuel (within the meaning of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986).
`(B) INDIAN TRIBE- The term `Indian tribe' means--
`(i) an Indian tribe or band referred to in subsection
(a); and
`(ii) any governing body or tribal corporation of such
a tribe or band.
`(C) QUALIFIED STATE TAX-
`(i) IN GENERAL- The term `qualified State tax' means
any lawfully imposed, nondiscriminatory excise, sales,
or transaction tax imposed by a State on a purchase of
a good or service from a tribal retail enterprise by a
person who is not a
member of the Indian tribe that is (or with respect to which a member is)
the owner or operator of the tribal retail enterprise.
`(ii) EXCEPTIONS- The term does not include any State
tax otherwise described in clause (i) if--
`(I) as of the date of enactment of the State
Excise, Sales, and Transaction Tax Enforcement Act
of 1999, the tribal retail enterprise is exempted
under the law of that State from collecting and
remitting that tax because the Indian tribe
associated with that tribal retail enterprise
imposes and collects an equivalent tax on such
sale in an amount equal to the tax that would
otherwise be imposed by the State;
`(II) as of the date of enactment of the State
Excise, Sales, and Transaction Tax Enforcement Act
of 1999, the State has waived the applicability of
that tax to the purchase of a good or service from
that tribal retail enterprise by a person who is
not a member of the Indian tribe that is (or with
respect to which a member is) the owner or
operator of the tribal retail enterprise;
`(III) as of the date of enactment of the State
Excise, Sales, and Transaction Tax Enforcement Act
of 1999, the tax is the subject of an agreement
between a tribal retail enterprise and a State
that exempts that tribal retail enterprise from
collecting and remitting that tax; or
`(IV) the incidence of the tax falls on an Indian
tribe or member of an Indian tribe.
`(D) TRIBAL IMMUNITY- The term `tribal immunity' means the
immunity of an Indian tribe from jurisdiction of the Federal
courts, judicial review of an action of that Indian tribe,
or any other remedy.
`(E) TRIBAL RETAIL ENTERPRISE- The term `tribal retail
enterprise' includes any entity that--
`(i) is owned or operated by an Indian tribe or member
of an Indian tribe; and
`(ii) engages in the business of the wholesale or
retail sales of a good or service.
`(2) COLLECTION OF QUALIFIED STATE TAXES- The owner or operator
of a tribal retail enterprise shall collect and remit applicable
qualified State taxes.
`(3) CONFLICT RESOLUTION-
`(A) DECLARATORY JUDGMENTS- A State may bring an action for
a declaratory judgment under section 2201 in a district
court of appropriate jurisdiction concerning the
applicability or lawfulness of a qualified State tax.
`(B) ACTIONS- A State may bring an action against a tribal
retail enterprise or the Indian tribe or member of an Indian
tribe that owns or operates the tribal retail enterprise in
a district court of appropriate jurisdiction to enforce the
collection or remittance of a qualified State tax under
paragraph (2).
`(C) WAIVER OF TRIBAL IMMUNITY- In an action referred to in
subparagraph (A) or (B), to the extent necessary to obtain a
judgment in that action, the tribal immunity of the Indian
tribe is waived.'.
SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY.
The amendments made by section 3 shall apply to sales of goods or
services referred to in section 1362(b) of title 28, United States
Code, as added by section 3, that are made after the date of enactment
of this Act.
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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