Opinion No. (1998)

Nebraska Attorney General Reports·Decided January 20, 1998·Published

Opinion

REQUESTED BY: M. Berri Balka State Tax Commissioner You have requested our opinion concerning whether Nebraska's cigarette tax may be imposed on cigarettes manufactured by the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and sold by the Tribe on its reservation in Nebraska.

I. FACTS

A. The Omaha Tribe's Cigarette Manufacturing Plant.

The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska [the "Tribe"] is a federally recognized Indian Tribe organized pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, 25 U.S.C. § 476, under a Constitution and Bylaws ratified by the members of the Tribe on February 15, 1936, and approved by the Secretary of the Interior on March 30, 1936. The Tribe occupies reservation land in Nebraska and Iowa constituting the Omaha Indian Reservation [the "Reservation"].

The Tribe, doing business as the "Omaha Nation Tobacco Company," has established a facility to manufacture cigarettes within the boundaries of the Tribe's Reservation. The manufacturing facility is located on land in Nebraska held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe. The Tribe reportedly spent $900,000 to initiate the cigarette manufacturing operation. It has been reported that the Tribe brought in an outside consultant to establish the plant, and that, at least initially, some of the plant employees were nonmembers of the Tribe. The Tribe does, however, intend to staff the operation with tribal members. The Tribe has applied for and obtained a federal license to operate as a manufacturer of tobacco products, as well as a Nebraska wholesaler's license. The Tribe is engaged in on-Reservation sales of its cigarettes to both members and nonmembers of the Tribe.

B. Nebraska's Cigarette Tax.

Nebraska imposes an excise tax of thirty-four (34) cents on each package of cigarettes sold in the State. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2602(1) (1996). Cigarette wholesalers are required to stamp cigarettes sold to retailers in the State, and to collect and pay the cigarette tax to the Tax Commissioner. Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 77-2603 and 77-2602(1) (1996). Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-2602.01 (1996) provides: "The impact of the [cigarette] tax . . . is hereby declared to be on the vendee, consumer, or possessor of cigarettes in this state, and when such tax is paid by any other person, such payment shall be construed as an advance payment, and shall thereafter be added to the price of the cigarettes and recovered from the ultimate consumer or user." Proceeds from the cigarette tax are dedicated to several purposes. Twenty-one (21) cents of the tax on each package of cigarettes is deposited in the General Fund. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2602(1) (1996). Varying amounts of the tax are deposited in other funds, including: the Nebraska Outdoor Recreation Development Cash Fund; the Department of Health and Human Services Finance and Support Cash Fund; the University Facilities Fund; the State College Facility Fund; the City of Omaha Public Events Facilities Fund; the Secure Youth Confinement Facility Fund; the Building Renewal Allocation Fund, the Nebraska Capital Construction Fund, and the Municipal Infrastructure Redevelopment Fund. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2602(1)(a) to (h).

Since 1976, the Department has required all cigarette wholesalers to stamp all packages of cigarettes sold to retailers located on reservations in Nebraska. The retailer can then sell the stamped cigarettes to Indians tax-free provided the retailer distinguishes on his or her records the exempt cigarette sales from the nonexempt cigarette sales. Since the retailer has already paid the cigarette tax to the wholesaler, the retailer can issue to the cigarette wholesaler a Nebraska Credit Computation for Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Sold to Native American Reservation Indians, Form 68. The wholesaler then credits the retailer's account for the amount of credit claimed on Form 68. The wholesaler attaches Form 68 to their next purchase order for cigarette stamps and is allowed a credit for the amount of cigarette tax allowed the retailer.

III. QUESTIONS PRESENTED

You have asked us to address three questions:

1. May the Tribe be required to affix Nebraska cigarette tax stamps on each package of cigarettes sold on the Reservation in Nebraska?

2. If the Tribe may be required to affix cigarette tax stamps to packages of cigarettes, is the Department required to allow the Tribe to obtain stamps for cigarettes sold to non-tribal members on the Reservation without prepayment of cigarette tax, or may the Department continue to follow its present procedure as outlined above?

3. If the Tribe may be required to affix cigarette tax stamps to packages of cigarettes, what remedies can be pursued if the Tribe fails to do so?

For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that Nebraska is preempted from imposing its cigarette tax on cigarettes manufactured and sold by the Tribe on its Reservation. Therefore, the Tribe may not be required to affix Nebraska cigarette tax stamps on packages of cigarettes sold by the Tribe on its Reservation. As we conclude that the Tribe may not be required to affix Nebraska cigarette tax stamps on cigarettes produced and sold on its Reservation, we need not address your second and third questions.

III. ANALYSIS

Generally, "[t]he federal purposes implicit in setting aside Indian country for the residence of a tribe — self-government and economic support — preempt state jurisdiction to tax Indians or Tribes therein, unless Congress authorizes the tax." F. Cohen,Handbook of Federal Indian Law, 406 (1982 ed.) [hereinafter "Cohen"]. "[W]hen a State attempts to levy a tax directly on an Indian tribe or its members inside Indian country, rather than on non-Indians, [the Court has] employed, instead of a balancing inquiry, `a more categorical approach: `[A]bsent cession of jurisdiction or other federal statutes permitting it', [the Court has] held, a State is without power to tax reservation lands and reservation Indians." Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Chickasaw Nation,515 U.S. 450, 458, 115 S.Ct. 2214, 2220-21 (1995) (quotingCounty of Yakima v. Confederated Tribes and Bands of YakimaNation, 502 U.S. 251, 258, 112 S.Ct. 683, 688 (1992) (citation omitted)). Applying this "categorical approach," the U.S. Supreme Court has "held unenforceable a number of state taxes whose legal incidence rested on a tribe or on tribal members inside Indian country." Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Chickasaw Nation,515 U.S. at 458, 115 S.Ct. at 2220. See, e.g., Bryan v. Itasca County,426 U.S. 373 (1976) (personal property tax); McClanahan v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Opinion No. (1998), (Neb. 1998).

Opinion No. (1998) (Opinion No. (1998)) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Williams v. Lee
358 U.S. 217 (Supreme Court, 1959)
Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones
411 U.S. 145 (Supreme Court, 1973)
McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission
411 U.S. 164 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Bryan v. Itasca County
426 U.S. 373 (Supreme Court, 1976)
White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker
448 U.S. 136 (Supreme Court, 1980)
New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe
462 U.S. 324 (Supreme Court, 1983)
California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians
480 U.S. 202 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Cotton Petroleum Corp. v. New Mexico
490 U.S. 163 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Chickasaw Nation
515 U.S. 450 (Supreme Court, 1995)
Gila River Indian Community v. Waddell
91 F.3d 1232 (Ninth Circuit, 1996)
Yavapai-prescott Indian Tribe v. Scott
117 F.3d 1107 (Ninth Circuit, 1997)