Tax to discourage Indians from selling land out of protected trust status

The Tulalip government is trying to enact a new tribal code in an attempt to discourage trust protected land sales to non Indians. One possible way to target such a sale is to add a tax when an Indian sells to a non-Indian; perhaps even a 17% tax on the land value. The purpose of targeting these land sales is to try to keep the land, which is believed to be sacred, in trust. Cris Stainbrook, president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, explained "Trust land can't be sold to a non-Indian. . . It can be sold to another Indian and it can be sold to the tribe and stay in trust, but it can't be sold to a non-Indian and stay in trust. There's a conversion from trust land to fee-simple land that happens, sometimes within moments."  Tribal leaders may present the final proposal to tribal members at a meeting scheduled for March.

Read the story HERE.

ddg