Minnesota Supreme Court: Income tax on Indians living off-reservation upheld
Associated Press
August 3, 2001
American Indians who live off tribal lands are subject to Minnesota income taxes, the state Supreme Court decided Thursday in upholding a lower court’s ruling.
Edward and Tina Jefferson sought shelter from paying taxes on income from Prairie Island Indian Community’s casino. They are members of the tribe, but don’t live on the reservation, which is near Red Wing.
Among other things, the Jeffersons contended that their equal protection rights were infringed upon when the state demanded tax payments, interest and penalties from 1991 to 1998. They said it created two classes of Indians, those who reside on the reservation and those who don’t.
The Supreme Court, agreeing with a ruling by the Minnesota Tax Court, rejected that and all other arguments.
“By taxing Indians who live outside Indian country, the state is not singling them out based on race, but is treating them like every other individual within its taxing jurisdiction,” Justice Alan Page wrote for a unanimous court.
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