NE: Nebraska ~ Sales and Use Tax: U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Review Decision on Imposition of Alcohol Tax on Tribal Land

CCH Group

October 7, 2015

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit which held that the Omaha Tribe is authorized to impose a 10% sales tax on the purchase of alcohol from any licensee on tribal land. A 2006 amendment to Title 8 of the Omaha Tribal Code modified the Omaha Tribe’s Beverage Control Ordinance, thereby allowing the tribal government to impose a 10% sales tax on the purchase of alcohol from any licensee on tribal land. The village of Pender and establishments selling alcohol in and around Pender claimed that they were not located within the boundaries of the Omaha Indian Reservation and were not subject to the tax due to an 1882 Act that allowed the sale of certain Omaha tribal lands to non-Indian settlers. The Court of Appeals agreed with the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska that the 1882 Act did not intend to diminish the boundaries of the reservation, and, consequently, the Omaha Tribe could impose its tax scheme on alcohol sales in Pender.

Nebraska v. Parker, U.S. Supreme Court, Dkt. 14-1406, petition for certiorari granted October 1, 2015