FireLake Discount Foods is one of a number of businesses in Shawnee, Oklahoma, that are owned by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Photo from Facebook
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation won a major victory in April when an independent arbitrator barred the state of Oklahoma from collecting sales taxes on the tribe's businesses. But the state is planning to take the matter to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, The Shawnee News-Star reported, based on comments made at a public meeting by an official from the office of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. Tribal attorneys also have heard rumblings. "We're not surprised by the state appealing,” attorney Kirke Kickingbird told the paper. "We've got a checkered history in Oklahoma of the state opposing tribal authority and jurisdiction. We thought we'd come to a good accommodation and a live-and-let-live arrangement." The state threatened to revoke permits for a slew of Citizen Potawatomi businesses because the tribe wouldn't collect the sales tax. Arbitrator Daniel J. Boudreau, a former justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court, ruled that the effort was illegal. “Federal law protecting tribal sovereignty interests preempts and invalidates the state's sales tax on the nation's sales in question,” Boudreau wrote in the April 4 ruling. The tax issue has generated significant controversy in the city of Shawnee, where a number of the tribe's businesses are based. Relying on the state's efforts, city officials demanded the tribe start collecting a local sales tax. The tribe has been fighting back and has blamed the city for a mysterious break in the water line at its Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center in March 2014. The facility suffered more than $1.2 million in damage as a result of flooding. The tribe has always been politically active and supported two candidates in a recent city election. Rivals and some residents viewed the effort as a way to assert more control of the city commission. "We've put $175 million into entertainment infrastructure in this community. We have given freely to the community, millions of dollars per year,” Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett told The Oklahoman before the election last month. "So, the idea that we should somehow abstain from the political process is just ridiculous." Get the Story:
State may challenge ruling on tribal tax collections (The Shawnee News-Star 7/20)
Oklahoma, Potawatomis battle over sales tax payments (The Oklahoman 4/17)
Decision announced in OTC dispute: Arbitrator rules in favor of CPN (The Shawnee News-Star 4/5)
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