Law | Politics

North Dakota tribe re-examines agreement after oil tax changes

Thursday, April 30, 2015

The oil flare in Mandaree, North Dakota. Photo by Talli Nauman / Native Sun News

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation is considering its options after North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) signed an energy tax reform bill into law.

The tribe and the state share oil tax revenues as part of the agreement. The Fort Berthold Reservation accounts for about 30 percent of the state's output.

But now that the tax rate has effectively been lowered to 10 percent, the tribe is questioning the arrangement. Dalrymple signed the changes into law yesterday.

"We prefer to split the tax but when our amendments weren't acknowledge or passed it puts us in a situation where we now have to consider the benefits of not being in the agreement," Chairman Mark Fox told KFYR.

Previously, the tribe and the state charged different rates, a regime that some believed hindered development on the reservation. The 2008 agreement set parity and preceded a boom in production.

The tribe has suggested changes to the agreement to increase its share of the tax revenues but state lawmakers have not been receptive in recent years.

Get the Story:
MHA Nation Reacts to Oil Tax (KFYR 4/28)
North Dakota Governor Signs Sweeping Oil Tax Law (Reuters 4/29)