US Supreme Court to review Yakama gas tax exemption case

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review whether Yakama tribal members are exempt from Washington state gas taxes on the reservation.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports the U.S. Solicitor General recommended last month for the country’s highest court to take up the case, which stems from a state Department of Licensing lawsuit in 2013 against a gas station and convenience store in White Swan.

The state claimed the store owned by tribal member Kip Ramsey brought out-of-state fuel onto the reservation without paying the state’s fuel tax.

Yakima County Superior Court and the state Supreme Court ruled the Yakama Treaty of 1855 exempted tribal-owned gas stations on the reservation from the tax.

The licensing department appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakimaherald.com