Citizen Potawatomi Nation says 1991 ruling resolved tax issue

Monday, May 12, 2014  

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma is citing the same ruling as the city of Shawnee in a dispute over sales taxes.

Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett said the 1991 decision in Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Citizen Potawatomi Nation determined that tribes can't be forced to collect a tax on behalf of another government. But the city claims the ruling requires the collection of taxes on goods sold to non-Indians.

“We spent about a half a million dollars in Oklahoma Tax Commission versus Citizen Potawatomi Nation, which is the precedent case of taxation of an Indian tribe by a state,” Barrett said at a Pottawatomie County Democrats event, The Shawnee News-Star reported.

The city has asked tribes to mediate but Barrett has insisted there is nothing to negotiate. At issue is a 3 percent sales tax.

“This place you’re sitting now is not in Oklahoma. It is not in the City of Shawnee. It is in the Citizen Potawatomi Nation since 1867,” Barrett said at the event, the paper reported.

Get the Story:
‘If they win, they’re going to lose’ (The Shawnee News-Star 5/12)

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Oklahoma might side with city in dispute over tribes and taxes (3/27)
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