Matheson v. STATE LIQUOR CONTROL BD.

130 P.3d 897
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMarch 28, 2006
Docket23770-2-III
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 130 P.3d 897 (Matheson v. STATE LIQUOR CONTROL BD.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matheson v. STATE LIQUOR CONTROL BD., 130 P.3d 897 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

130 P.3d 897 (2006)

Paul M. MATHESON, Appellant,
v.
WASHINGTON STATE LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD; and State of Washington Department of Revenue; and the State of Washington, Respondents.

No. 23770-2-III.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 3.

March 28, 2006.

*898 Robert E. Kovacevich, Robert E. Kovacevich PLLC, Spokane, WA, for Appellant.

Jason S. Richards, Attorney General's Office, Heidi A. Irvin, David M. Hankins, Attorney General's Office/Revenue Division, Olympia, WA, for Respondents.

BROWN, J.

¶ 1 Paul Matheson appeals the trial court's summary judgment dismissal of his petition for return of tobacco products and certain personal property seized by the State as contraband. We reject Mr. Matheson's constitutional, statutory, and exemption contentions involving his Indian status, and affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2 In January 2004, Trooper Steve Reeves stopped a pickup towing a trailer for speeding, *899 heading west on Interstate 90. The driver, Gerald Ashby, was arrested for driving with a suspended license. The passenger, Reginald Ashby, was not wearing a seat-belt. During a search incident to the arrest, Trooper Reeves found two new packs of cigarettes without tax stamps. Trooper Reeves impounded the truck and trailer.

¶ 3 During the search of Gerald Ashby, Trooper Reeves found invoices for cigarette sales in Idaho listing "Indian Country" as the Idaho shipper and "Skagit Sales" and "Native American Ventures" as recipients. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 84. The truck was registered to Paul Matheson. The Liquor Control Board (Board) verified neither Mr. Ashby nor Mr. Matheson was a licensed cigarette wholesaler in Washington or filed the required pre-notification forms for a shipment of untaxed cigarettes.

¶ 4 Based on this information, the Board obtained a warrant to search the truck and trailer for untaxed cigarettes. The search revealed 41,700 assorted packs of unstamped, untaxed cigarettes. The Board seized the truck, trailer and cigarettes, and notified Mr. Matheson that the property would be forfeited.

¶ 5 Mr. Matheson filed a petition in Kittitas County Superior Court to recover the seized property. When deposed, Mr. Matheson refused to answer any questions about the shipment, based on the Fifth Amendment. He did reveal his residence and business are located on the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's reservation, he is a member of the Puyallup Tribe, and he asserted he is a licensed cigarette wholesaler in Idaho. The Board successfully moved for summary judgment dismissal. Mr. Matheson appeals.

ANALYSIS

¶ 6 The issue is whether the court erred in granting summary judgment dismissal of Mr. Matheson's petition for the return of the alleged contraband seized by the State. Mr. Matheson contends the property was not contraband because as an Indian, the statutory scheme does not apply to him in view of federal law and constitutional principles. Alternatively, he contends if state law does apply to him, he is entitled to exemption.

¶ 7 Summary judgment is appropriate when "the pleadings, affidavits, depositions, and admissions on file demonstrate there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Folsom v. Burger King, 135 Wash.2d 658, 663, 958 P.2d 301 (1998); CR 56(c). Our inquiry is the same as the trial court when reviewing summary judgment issues. Id. The facts and reasonable inferences from the facts are viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Mountain Park Homeowners Ass'n v. Tydings, 125 Wash.2d 337, 341, 883 P.2d 1383 (1994). All questions of law are reviewed de novo. Id.

¶ 8 Washington imposes an excise tax on all cigarettes sold, used, consumed, handled, possessed or distributed within the state. RCW 82.24.020. The State collects the tax through the sale of cigarette stamps, which must be "affixed on every package of cigarettes" implicated by RCW 82.24.020. RCW 82.24.030.

¶ 9 Mr. Matheson's main contention is that Washington's cigarette tax, as applied to him as an Indian, is contrary to federal and Constitutional law. He argues federal law prevents the State from taxing Indians; the tax is an impermissible burden on interstate and Indian commerce' differing treatment of military cigarette sales violates equal protection and state privileges and immunities guarantees; and the tax violates the state's constitutional guarantee of uniform taxation.

¶ 10 States lack the power to tax Indian tribes, Indian reservation lands or tribal members residing on Indian reservations without federal statutory authority. Cy. of Yakima v. Confederated Tribes & Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation, 502 U.S. 251, 258, 112 S.Ct. 683, 116 L.Ed.2d 687 (1992). Washington state does not have a grant of federal authority to tax on-reservation activities. See 4 U.S.C. § 109; see also WAC 458-20-192(5) (recognizing that the State may not tax Indians or Indian tribes in Indian country). Accordingly, Washington state's cigarette tax scheme does not apply to Indians purchasing or selling cigarettes on the reservation *900 of a tribe of which they are enrolled members. RCW 82.24.900; RCW 82.24.040. However, non-Indians and non-tribal Indians, those not enrolled with the tribe where they are doing business, must pay tax on cigarette retail sales on reservations. WAC 458-20-192(2)(a), (5). And, off-reservation activities are subject to taxation. See RCW 82.24.900; RCW 82.24.040.

¶ 11 Washington's cigarette excise tax scheme has been upheld by the United States Supreme Court. In Washington v. Confederated Tribes of Colville Indian Reservation, 447 U.S. 134, 139, 100 S.Ct. 2069, 65 L.Ed.2d 10 (1980), several Indian tribes challenged Washington's imposition of a cigarette tax on non-member Indians and non-Indians. The Court upheld the tax: "Federal statutes, even given the broadest reading to which they are reasonably susceptible, cannot be said to pre-empt Washington's power to impose taxes on Indians not members of the Tribe." Id. at 160-61, 100 S.Ct. 2069. This type of tax is valid so long as the incidence of the tax does not fall on members of the Indian tribe where the sales are taking place. Id. at 159, 100 S.Ct. 2069.

¶ 12 Mr. Matheson argues Colville is no longer good law in view of statutory changes.

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