The Internal Revenue Service on June 1 dropped its long-standing policy against using Alaska Native corporation dividends to pay federal tax levies.

The IRS decided to make the change after noticing that some Alaska Native corporations began making large payouts to shareholders. Under the old policy, these couldn't be touched if a shareholder owed back taxes.

But the IRS changed the policy to be more fair, a director of collections told The Anchorage Daily News. "Other taxpayers are subject to levy when they don't pay their taxes. The feeling was that we should get back into the business of treating them fairly," Harry T. Manaka said.

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act's 20-year moratorium on the use of corporation dividends fir federal tax levies expired in 1991. The IRS kept honoring it on an informal basis.

Get the Story:
IRS alters policy on Native firms (The Anchorage Daily News 6/16)
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