Officials in two Idaho counties are moving to impose taxes on property owned by individual Indians even though the land is within the boundaries of the Coeur d�Alene Reservation.

Kootenai County is asserting jurisdiction over land that is not held in trust. About 150 properties, owned by members of the Coeur d�Alene Tribe and other tribes, are affected.

Benewah County is also doing the same. An estimated 150 Indian-owned properties are affected.

Officials in both counties are basing their decision on a U.S. Supreme Court case from 1998. The justices said land that was opened to allotment by an act of Congress could be subject to property taxes.

But in a recent case, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals stopped the state of Michigan from using the Supreme Court ruling. The court said land that is within the boundaries of a reservation remains free from taxation unless there is a specific act of Congress to the contrary. The court said treaty language was not sufficient to authorize state jurisdiction.

Get the Story:
Kootenai County to tax tribe (The St. Maries Gazette Record 8/10)

6th Circuit Decision:
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community v. Michigan (June 26, 2005)

Lower Court Decision:
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community v. Michigan (June 1, 2005)

Supreme Court Decision:
Cass County v. Leech Lake (June 8, 1998)

Relevant Links:
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community - http://www.ojibwa.com

Related Stories:
State misses deadline on Indian taxation case (07/28)
Michigan tribe wins another ruling in state taxation battle (06/30)
Judge says tribe must collect state tobacco taxes (09/16)
Judge rebuffs state's attempt to impose taxes on tribe (06/02)
Michigan tribe rejects talk of tax deal with state (03/18)
Members of Michigan tribe protest state tax deal (3/16)
Mich. tribe still considering state tax agreement (07/15)
State wants Mich. tribal members to pay taxes (06/10)