The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on Indian Governments and the Tax Code: Maximizing Tax Incentives for Economic Development.  Here are the witnesses are scheduled to testify:

• Dante Desiderio (Certified Financial Planner and Economic Development Policy Specialist, National Congress of American Indians)
• Del Laverdure (Chief Legal Counsel, Crow Nation Executive Branch at Crow Agency)
• Wayne A. Shammel (General Counsel, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians)

The hearing takes place at 10:00 a.m. in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building   In connection with the hearing, the Joint Committee on Taxation has released Overview of Federal Tax Provisions Relating to Native American Tribes and Their Members (JCX-61-08):

This document … provides a description of Federal tax law relating to Native American tribes and their members as well as data on the economic status of Native American tribes and Native Americans in the United States. …

Some commentators have argued that uncertainties about the taxation of transactions in Indian country have inhibited economic development, contributing significantly to economic plight of tribes and their members. Investors doing business in Indian country must contend with three tax systems – Federal, State, and tribal – often with uncertain application. Mark J. Cowan, for example, has argued that tribes and States both have the power to tax certain transactions of non-members of tribes within Indian country, resulting in double taxation of such transactions and a disincentive to invest in business ventures on reservations. Cowan argues that the status of tribes “does not fit neatly into the category of a ‘state’ or a ‘foreign nation,’” and thus “traditional concepts and mechanisms for avoiding double taxation that have developed in other multi-jurisdictional settings are not easily imported into Indian country.” Erik M. Jensen has argued that outside capital is essential to economic development in Indian country, but, because of the uncertain application of the tax laws, such investment sometimes is viewed as excessively risky.