reprinted from:
State drops suit against tribal resort in Polson
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press POLSON - The Montana Department of Revenue has dropped its lawsuit against a tribally owned resort in Polson that the agency says didn't collect or pay the state's "bed tax." The case originally was filed in District Court in Lake County two years ago. District Judge C.B. McNeil ruled against the state, saying businesses operated on the Flathead Indian Reservation by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes were outside the state's jurisdiction. The state challenged McNeil's decision, but dropped its appeal earlier this month and the complaint cannot be filed again. David Ohler, an attorney for the state Revenue Department, said a state Supreme Court ruling in a similar case influenced the decision not to pursue the matter. In that 1996 case, the agency tried to assess a tax against Flat Center Farms Inc., a tribally chartered corporation on the Fort Peck Reservation. A lawsuit by the farms to overturn the tax eventually went to the state Supreme Court, which ruled in June against the Revenue Department. Ohler said his agency has also been talking to tribal officials about settling the problem outside a courtroom. "We have had some productive discussions," he said. "We haven't reached agreement but we seem to be going in the right direction." Tribal chairman Fred Matt said he was pleased that the agency dropped the case. KwaTaqNuk board chairman Corky Sias said he assumed the state would lift its boycott of the resort, but state officials said that order is still in effect. The boycott, initiated in September 2000, instructs all state employees to avoid doing business at KwaTaqNuk. Government employees traveling on business pay the bed tax when they stay on official business, just like any other hotel or motel guest, officials said. The bed tax was created in 1987, to help
pay for state and local tourism programs. State officials said the 4 percent
tax brings in more than $10 million each year. |
