Chapter 8.10
IMPORT-EXPORT TAX
Sections:
8.10.050 Importation generally.
8.10.060 Exportation generally.
8.10.070 Export tax assessment.
8.10.100 Recourse – No waiver.
8.10.010 Statement of policy.
The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation (“Tribe”) seeks to exercise its inherent and sovereign rights of self-determination, the “free use and enjoyment” of its lands, and regulatory authority over both trust and fee lands within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation and other Chehalis Indian Country, where permitted by applicable Tribal and Federal law, including without limitation the exceptions identified in Montana v. United States. The importation and/or exportation of commercial goods or products that cross the boundaries of the Reservation place an additional burden on the Tribe with respect to the use, construction and maintenance, and civil regulation of the roads on the Reservation, and impair the health, safety and welfare of the residents of and visitors to the Reservation with respect to increased traffic and the potential of accidents, hazardous waste, and environmental degradation. All such issues require the dedication of the Tribe’s governmental resources and detracts from the essential services that the Tribe can provide to its members and the residents of and visitors to the Reservation. The goal, therefore, is to supplement and enhance the ability of the Tribe to monitor, regulate, and address the effects of the importation and exportation of commercial goods or products on the Reservation and other Chehalis Indian Country. To achieve this goal, the Business Committee states that it shall be official Tribal policy to vigorously protect and defend the economic and self-governance interests of the Tribe and its people within the Tribe’s Reservation and other Indian Country. It is further the policy of the Tribe to enhance its tax base as its primary means of providing governmental programs affecting the health, safety and welfare of the members of the Tribe. Such governmental purposes are central to the governance of the Reservation and the internal affairs of the Tribe and shall extend to the regulation and taxation of all goods imported to and/or exported from the Reservation, to the extent permitted by Tribal and Federal law. [Res. 2022-3.]
8.10.020 Findings.
The Business Committee finds and declares that:
A. The purpose of an import and/or export tax by the Tribe is to generate significant governmental revenue necessary for the delivery of essential governmental services to all members of the Tribe and all residents of and visitors to the Reservation and other Chehalis Indian Country, which essential governmental services protect and promote the public health, safety and welfare;
B. Without the ability to impose a real property tax on the Reservation, the Tribe must rely on economic development and taxation to provide health, safety and welfare benefits to its members and residents of and visitors to the Reservation; and
C. The Tribe intends to implement its license(s) for its two and one-half GHz broadband network which will provide emergency notifications related to road closures, fire, flood and other storm events, health issues such as COVID-19, and other public safety issues to all residents and businesses of the Reservation, whether on fee or trust land;
D. The cost of the essential governmental services, including without limitation the services described above, requires the Tribe to implement new, directly related taxation with respect to business operations on the Reservation on certain fee lands and on trust lands, including persons involved in transporting commercial goods or products to and from Tribal lands, whose activities impact roads owned, maintained, and regulated by the Tribe and affect the public health, safety, and welfare through increased traffic and the potential of accidents, hazardous waste, and environmental degradation;
E. The demands of non-Tribal commerce upon the Tribe’s governmental resources and lands, as described above, needs to be regulated and taxed as set forth herein;
F. The importation and/or exportation of commercial goods or products on the Chehalis Reservation and other Indian Country may include both burdens and benefits. Goods imported to the Reservation for use or sale on the Reservation add significantly to the economic benefits available to Chehalis Tribal members and residents of the Reservation and produce significant positive local ripple effects. In contrast, goods imported to the Reservation, but which turn around and are exported from the Reservation serve as a drain on the Tribe’s governmental resources without corresponding benefits to the Tribal members and residents of the Reservation. [Res. 2022-3.]
8.10.030 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to protect and enhance the Tribe’s sovereign governmental integrity through the regulation and taxation of goods imported and exported into and from the Reservation and to generate revenue to meet the burdens and impacts on the Tribe’s resources with respect to such activity and further to conduct other essential governmental functions and services. [Res. 2022-3.]
8.10.040 Definitions.
“Export” shall mean the wholesale transportation for sale or delivery from lands on the Chehalis Reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country of any goods or products to be sold and/or delivered off the Reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country by any individual or entity which engages in such activity as a wholesaler. “Export” does not include a shipment of goods or products that both originates and terminates outside of the Tribe’s Reservation or other Indian Country and only incidentally crosses the Reservation or Indian Country on public rights-of-way.
“Exporter” shall mean a person engaged in exporting goods or products from lands on the Reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country.
“Goods” or “products” shall mean all tangible personal property of any type whatsoever regardless of whether such property is in process, unfinished or finished, including, without limitation, produce, articles, merchandise, wares, or other items in commerce.
“Import” shall mean the wholesale importation of any goods or products onto lands on the reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country for purposes of resale or distribution, whether on or off the Reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country. “Import” does not include a shipment of goods or products that both originates and terminates outside of the Tribe’s Reservation or other Indian Country and only incidentally crosses the Reservation or Indian Country on public rights-of-way.
“Importer” shall mean a person importing goods or products onto lands on the Reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country for purposes of resale or distribution.
“Person” shall mean any individual, corporation, firm, limited liability company, organization, or association, who or which is engaged in any business, trade, occupation, or profession or renders or furnishes any service for profit or livelihood, but not individuals working for said persons as employees.
“Retailer” shall mean a person engaged in the retail sale of goods or products to the general public.
“Wholesaler” shall mean a person engaged in the sale and distribution of goods or products for resale purposes. [Res. 2022-3.]
8.10.050 Importation generally.
A. Virtually all goods or products coming to lands on the Reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country are imported. Goods or products may freely be imported to lands on the Tribe’s Reservation or other Indian Country without the imposition of any tax.
B. No Person shall import goods or products to lands on the Tribe’s Reservation or other Indian Country unless he/she/they/it shall have a valid Tribe business license. [Res. 2022-3.]
8.10.060 Exportation generally.
A. Goods and/or products may be freely exported from lands on the Tribe’s Reservation or other Indian Country, subject to the export tax set forth below.
B. No person shall export goods or products from lands on the Tribe’s Reservation or other Indian Country unless he/she/they/it shall have a valid Tribe business license. [Res. 2022-3.]
8.10.070 Export tax assessment.
A. The number of goods or products, for the purpose of the export tax imposed by this chapter, shall be calculated as the number of individual items composing such goods or products, based on the number of salable units being exported regardless of whether the individual item taxed is exported separately, together with other taxable items, or packaged together with other similar or identical items. Such taxes shall be assessed based on the number of salable units, rather than the number of shipments. Therefore, by way of example, a shipment of 10 crates of widgets, each crate containing 1,000 widgets for sale, will be deemed to be 10,000 salable units for the purposes of this chapter.
B. Effective March 1, 2022, there shall be imposed a tax on the export of goods or products from the Tribe’s Reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country. Said tax shall be imposed in accordance with the following schedule:
1. Items one to 360 of the same salable units of goods or products in any given calendar month taxed at $0.00 per item.
2. Items 361 to 1,499 of the same salable units of goods or products in any given calendar month taxed at $0.03 per item.
3. Items 1,500 through 2,999 of the same salable units of goods or products in any given calendar month taxed at $0.02 per item.
4. Items 3,000 or more of the same salable units of goods or products in any given calendar month taxed at $0.01 per item.
C. Not later than the tenth day of each calendar month, beginning April 2022, each exporter shall complete and remit the form attached as Exhibit A to the resolution codified in this chapter, reporting all goods and products exported during the immediately preceding calendar month.
D. Export taxes for all exports each month shall be accumulated and then shall be paid monthly to the Tribe by certified check, cashier’s check, money order or by wire transfer. No credit account shall be established on behalf of any exporter.
E. If the export tax is not timely paid, then the exporter shall not export goods or products from the Reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country until his/her/their account is fully paid up.
F. Every person subject to the provisions of this chapter shall have a civil regulatory obligation to self-report on the Exhibit A form, whether an import/export notice is sent by the Tribe or not.
G. Every person who is an exporter shall file a monthly report with the Tribe in the form attached to the resolution codified in this chapter as Exhibit A, regardless of whether any export tax is due and owing. If export tax is due and owing, the exporter shall file a monthly report along with the payment calculated as set forth above.
H. The legal incidence of the export tax imposed by this section is on the exporter, including, without limitation, persons conducting activities on Tribal lands and persons who have entered consensual relationships with the Tribe or its members, through commercial dealing, contracts, leases, easements, licenses or other arrangements. The place of taxation is the lands on the Tribe’s Reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country from which the export originates, including for these purposes any Tribal lands or Tribal rights-of-way used to export the goods or products. [Res. 2022-3.]
8.10.080 Enforcement.
A. This chapter may be enforced by the Chehalis Tribal Police, the Tribal Tax Commission, and/or any other entity acting in a civil regulatory capacity designated by the Business Committee to do so. The Business Committee is authorized to employ such inspectors, investigators, auditors, agents, and staff as may be necessary, acting in a civil regulatory capacity, to ensure compliance herewith.
B. The authorized agents of the Tribe, acting at the direction of the Business Committee, shall have such authority as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including but not limited to the authority to inspect goods or products imported and/or exported to or from lands on the Reservation or other Chehalis Indian Country, to intercept illegal imports or exports, to intercept and seize any goods or products for which export tax due and owing has not been paid, and to seize any vehicles or other personal property used in the course of violating this chapter.
C. Failure to comply with this chapter shall subject the person or entity violating the chapter to seizure of goods and products, civil forfeiture of goods and products, exclusion from the Reservation and/or other Chehalis Indian Country and/or a civil regulatory fine not to exceed $0.05 per item per incident, in addition to the payment of the outstanding export tax due and owing.
D. The Business Committee of the Tribe shall be entitled to assess separate penalties the cumulative effect of which not to exceed $0.05 per item per incident, each of which is separately subject to the foregoing limitations, for: failure to file a report, failure to timely file a report, failure to pay, underpayment by greater than 20 percent of the amount of tax owed, late payment, exporting without a business license, and exporting with a delinquent account. [Res. 2022-3.]
8.10.090 Fee allocation.
Taxes generated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall be applied first to the costs of administration. All taxes received in excess of said costs shall be allocated pursuant to resolution by the Business Committee with due consideration given to the policies, findings and purposes set forth herein. [Res. 2022-3.]
8.10.100 Recourse – No waiver.
A. A person who disputes the application of the export tax to them or their activities, who objects to the amount of export tax due and owing, or who seeks a reduction in the amount of the export tax due and owing may file an administrative appeal before the Chehalis Business Committee no later than 30 days after the challenged export tax payment is due, which appeal the Business Committee may grant or deny in its sole discretion.
B. The decision of the Business Committee shall be in writing.
C. The decision of the Business Committee shall be subject to the right of an appeal to the Chehalis Tribal Court under the terms of the civil procedure rules of the Court. Such an appeal shall be limited to declaratory and/or injunctive relief and, if payment has been made under protest, to the reimbursement of monies paid limited to the specific tax date payment being challenged.
D. Such an appeal must be filed with the Court within 15 calendar days of the service by mail, email or overnight delivery of the written decision of the Business Committee. If the appeal is not timely filed, it shall be dismissed.
E. The decision of the Chehalis Tribal Court shall not be subject to appeal to the Chehalis Court of Appeals or any other court.
F. Except as it relates to the specific right of appeal defined herein, nothing contained in this chapter waives the sovereign immunity of the Tribe and its officers and employees, nor shall it establish a cause of action in any United States Federal, State or Tribal Court. [Res. 2022-3.]