Much is being made of the new U.S. Department of the Interior leasing regulation, 25 C.F.R. § 162.017, which makes clear that “permanent improvements” to leased Indian land are “not subject to any fee, tax, assessment, levy, or other charge imposed by any State or political subdivision of a State.”

Related FAQs from those in tribal economic development, include: What is a permanent improvement? What makes an improvement permanent? And most commonly, does [insert type of real or personal property] constitute a tax-exempt permanent improvement? This blog attempts to help folks answer such pivotal questions from a legal point of view.

25 U.S.C. § 465 of course explicitly exempts Indian trust land from state and local taxation. In Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, it was held that Section 465 exempts not only tribal land from state and local taxation, but any tax that the Court deems to be an equivalent to a tax on land, including any “permanent improvements” thereon. 411 U.S. 145, 158 (1973).