"Completely absent from this analysis are a number of impacts that paint an entirely different picture, and substantiate many people’s belief that this report is just an attempt to provide cover for politicians and their back-room deal making. Let’s look at what the California Economic Forecast group forgot to mention.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs explains the tax advantages when land is in federal trust: Federal income taxes are not levied on income from trust lands held for them by the U.S. government; state income taxes are not paid on income earned on a federal Indian reservation; state sales taxes are not paid by Indians on transactions made on a federal Indian Reservation; local property taxes are not paid on reservations or trust land.

The entire issue is further complicated because when land is in federal trust, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will not impose restrictions on a tribe’s future use of land. The Dehesa Community found this out when their local tribal neighbors changed the use of the property once it was in trust. They asked the BIA to stop the change of development, calling it bait and switch. The BIA told them they had no recourse."

Get the Story:
Kathy Cleary: Chumash casino tribe economic report (The Santa Ynez Valley Journal 4/19)

Related Stories:
Chumash Tribe cites economic benefits of land-into-trust (4/11)
Opinion: Putting an end to land-into-trust for wealthy tribes (03/29)
Richard Gomez: Chumash Tribe needs more land for housing (3/1)
Opinion: Land-into-trust wasn't intended for 'wealthy' tribes (1/19)
Opinion: A lack of leadership over Chumash Tribe land-into-trust (1/5)