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 http://news.theolympian.com/stories/20000219/Northwest/38131.shtml
 

Northwest Saturday, February 19, 2000
State wants to stop tribe's alcohol tax
The Associated Press

YAKIMA -- Tired of talking, state officials now say they may go to federal
court to try to block the Yakama Nation's alcohol tax.

Gov. Gary Locke is prepared to pursue a lawsuit if negotiations with the
tribe aren't resolved soon, an administration official told the state House
Commerce and Labor Committee on Thursday in Olympia.

"If we are unable to get a resolution, the state is prepared to go to
court," said Helen Howell, the governor's deputy chief of staff.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, D-Hawaii, has offered to mediate the issue.
Locke accepted Inouye's offer, and tribal leaders will meet with Inouye this
month in Washington, D.C., Howell said.

In the late 1980s, Inouye took up the cause of the Sohappy family of the
Yakama Nation when the family battled with the federal government over
fishing rights.

Locke has spent two months negotiating with tribal leaders in an effort to
kill the tax, which will be paid by buyers and sellers of alcoholic
beverages sold within reservation boundaries.

Locke had distanced himself from discussions about a lawsuit, and said the
tribe may have legal taxing authority.

Howell said a lawsuit to block the tribe's tax would be a last resort, but
the tactic has undergone extensive study.

State Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, who sits on the Commerce and Labor
Committee, said he thinks the legal maneuvering is a symbol of where state
negotiations with the tribe are heading.

"It was inevitable," he said.

At the hearing in Olympia, city officials and business owners from Toppenish
and Wapato told lawmakers the tax is hurting businesses and cutting into
city coffers.

Tribal law now requires sellers of alcohol to pay a $5,000 licensing fee and
give the tribe tax revenue for every container of intoxicants sold. The tax
is 40 cents on a can of beer and $1 on a fifth of whiskey.

So far, businesses haven't paid the tax.

Smuggling has become commonplace, with many businesses trucking alcohol onto
the reservation in defiance of tribal law, said Boyd Gray, president of
Mount Adams Country Club near Toppenish.

The tribe has enforced its tax law twice, in both cases seizing beer from
businesses owned by tribal members.

Toppenish Mayor Al Hubert said some convenience stores have seen more than a
30 percent drop in overall sales. Falling sales means a drop in sales tax
income for cities on the reservation, he said.

But businesses are opposed to taking the tribe to court, preferring a
negotiated solution, Gray said.

"If you go to court, you are taking a risk on the outcome," he said.

---
The Olympian Copyright 2000

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