The Supreme Court docket’s McGirt ruling results in tax protests in Oklahoma

Some Oklahoma taxpayers are seeking tax exemptions in light of the landmark US Supreme Court ruling that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s reservation was never lifted.

Several taxpayers have filed protests with the Oklahoma Tax Commission seeking exemption from certain taxes, senior officials from The Oklahoman agency said.

The state is unable to tax the income of tribal citizens who live and work on their tribe’s land. Additionally, tribal and non-tribal businesses in the Indian country are not required to collect sales tax on purchases made by tribal members.

While this rule has always applied, the court’s decision in the McGirt v Oklahoma case confirmed that far more Oklahoma land is reservation land than previously thought.

More:Choctaw, Seminole reservations recognized by Oklahoma Court of Appeals

How the McGirt Ruling Could Affect Oklahoma Taxes

Some accountants, tax attorneys, and everyday taxpayers wonder if the decision will change the way Oklahomans file their taxes.

“There are protests from taxpayers who believe (McGirt) should be extended to civil matters and taxes specifically,” said Jay Doyle, executive director of the Tax Commission.

Although there has been widespread speculation about the widespread implications of the McGirt decision, the implications so far have been limited to criminal matters. The decision was not extended to civil matters.

In October, at the request of Governor Kevin Stitt’s government to assess the potential impact of the McGirt decision, the Tax Commission reported that the court ruling could affect state income and sales and use tax revenues. The Tax Commission estimated that McGirt’s decision could reduce the amount of taxes levied if more tribesmen living on reservation areas requested exemptions.

However, this would only happen if the McGirt decision were extended to civil matters. In this case, many tribal experts expect the tribes to be able to contact the state on tax issues.

In the past, the state and the tribes have worked together to compact a number of issues, including fuel taxes, cigarette and tobacco taxes, and hunting and fishing licenses.

More:The Oklahoma murder convictions were overturned due to the Indian reservation decision, more expected

Map showing the borders of the Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Muscogee (Creek) nations in Oklahoma

Oklahoma tax officials weigh in

In the meantime, the Tax Commission has announced that the McGirt decision has not been extended to tax issues.

“As you probably know, the McGirt Court has limited its involvement only to criminal cases under the Serious Crimes Act. At that point, the McGirt ruling was not extended to civil matters, including taxes, “wrote General Counsel Elizabeth Field in a letter to a member of the Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Field said she thinks fewer than 10 protests have been filed.

She declined to go into the details of the protests but said she thought they were all tribal.

More:Oklahoma court says Cherokee, Chickasaw reservations remain

There is no immediate timetable for resolving the upcoming protests. After the Tax Commission has refused a tax refund or an adjustment, the taxpayer has 60 days to file a written protest.

From there, the protest can be heard by an administrative judge and then heard by the Oklahoma Tax Commission. If the taxpayer is not satisfied with the decision, they can appeal to a district court or the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

If an exemption is granted, some individuals may be able to claim a refund for income taxes recorded over the past three years.

Governor Stitt’s McGirt rhetoric

On a recent visit to Enid, Stitt said the Oklahoma Tax Commission had 3,000 protests from Native Americans in eastern Oklahoma who, according to Enid News and Eagle, want exemption from state income tax in light of the McGirt decision.

However, tax commission officials say this is not the case. Doyle said 3,000 is the number of Native Americans who applied for tax exemptions because they say they live and work on tribal land. So this number includes tribal citizens who have applied for such an exemption for years.

“Those are definitely not protests at this point, these are just the ones that are filing,” said Doyle.

More:Indian criminal cases consume prosecutors

In his year’s State of the State Address, Stitt identified McGirt’s decision as the state’s most pressing issue. He said the ruling raises many unanswered decisions, including those related to taxes.

In the McGirt ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that convicted Native American child rapist Jimcy McGirt was wrongly tried in a state court when his crimes were committed on the Creek Reservation, which has never been overridden.

Federal law states that unlike the state, the federal government will prosecute serious crimes against tribal members committed on reserve land.

Since the Supreme Court ruling, the Oklahoma Court of Appeals ruled that, similar to Creek Nation, the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Seminole reservations were never lifted.

Tax protests have also surfaced at the local level. Citing McGirt’s decision, the broken arrow power plant owner is challenging the Wagoner County Assessor Office, The Tulsa World previously reported, to raise his personal property tax rating.