Litigation

Miccosukee Tribe challenges IRS request for gaming documents

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida is accusing the Internal Revenue Service of harassment in an ongoing dispute over gaming per capita payments.

The IRS claims tribal members haven't paid taxes on their per caps. So the agency is seeking a wide range of internal gaming documents and information related to the legal advice the tribe received.

“No longer is there even a pretense that the United States is not seeking to harass the Miccosukee Tribe and its members,” the tribe wrote in a brief, The Miami Herald reported.

The tribe recently said its members owe about $25.8 million in taxes and penalties. But it has blamed former attorney Dexter Lehtinen for giving bad advice about the per caps.

The tribe has sued Lehtinen, a former U.S. Attorney, saying it paid his firm $50 million over 20 years .The tribe also sued former chairman Billy Cypress for allegedly stealing $26 million.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from both cases, Miccosukee Tribe v. US and Miccosukee Tribe v. Cypress.

Get the Story:
IRS steps up probe of Miccosukee Tribe’s payouts of gambling profits to members (The Miami Herald 8/1)