## Facts

- Washington imposed a cigarette excise tax and a general retail sales tax applicable to cigarette sales, plus certain motor-vehicle and mobile-home related excise taxes tied to use in the state.
- Several tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, enacted tribal cigarette taxes and sold cigarettes on-reservation, including large volumes to non-Indians, without collecting state taxes.
- After tribes refused to collect and remit state taxes, Washington intercepted and seized untaxed cigarettes intended for delivery to reservation retailers.
- The tribes sued in federal court for declaratory and injunctive relief against application of state cigarette and sales taxes to on-reservation transactions, the seizures, application of vehicle-related excise taxes to Indian-owned vehicles, and the state’s asserted civil and criminal jurisdiction over the reservations.
- A three-judge district court largely ruled for the tribes, limiting state taxation of on-reservation sales and rejecting certain enforcement requirements.
- Washington appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

## Issues

1. May Washington require tribal retailers to collect and remit state cigarette and sales taxes on on-reservation sales to non-Indian purchasers?
2. May Washington tax on-reservation purchases by tribal members and impose vehicle-related excise taxes on Indian-owned vehicles used on and off the reservation?
3. May Washington impose nondiscriminatory recordkeeping and reporting requirements on reservation retailers to enforce valid state taxes?
4. Were Washington’s assertions of civil and criminal jurisdiction over the reservations valid under applicable federal statutes and procedures?

## Decision

- The Court affirmed in part and reversed in part (Justice White; 6–3).
- Washington could require tribal retailers to collect and remit state cigarette and sales taxes on on-reservation sales to non-Indians.
- Washington generally could not tax on-reservation cigarette purchases by tribal members absent clear congressional authorization.
- Washington could impose reasonable, nondiscriminatory recordkeeping and reporting requirements tied to enforcement of valid taxes on non-Indians.
- The Court upheld some applications of vehicle-related excise taxes and rejected others, depending on whether the tax burden fell on Indians as reservation Indians or on activity connected to broader, off-reservation use.
- The Court also upheld some jurisdictional assertions and invalidated others based on statutory compliance and the extent of intrusion on tribal self-government.

## Legal Principles

- State taxation in Indian country is evaluated through a fact-specific inquiry weighing federal, tribal, and state interests; neither the Indian Commerce Clause nor federal law automatically preempts all state taxation of on-reservation activity.
- A tribe may not effectively sell a state-tax exemption to non-Indians by operating as a tax-free market where the state otherwise has a valid, neutral tax claim against non-Indian consumers.
- The existence of a tribal tax does not, by itself, preempt a parallel state tax imposed on non-Indians.
- States may require tribal sellers to collect state taxes lawfully owed by non-Indians for on-reservation purchases, and may use reasonable, nondiscriminatory enforcement mechanisms, including recordkeeping obligations, to prevent evasion.
- Absent clear congressional authorization, states generally lack authority to tax tribal members’ on-reservation purchases tied to internal tribal affairs.
- State authority over vehicle-related excise taxes and jurisdictional assertions turns on the legal incidence of the tax or regulation and whether it targets reservation Indians in their on-reservation capacity versus general, off-reservation conduct.

## Conclusion

The Court held that Washington could require tribes to collect and remit neutral state cigarette and sales taxes on on-reservation sales to non-Indians and could impose reasonable recordkeeping to enforce those taxes, while preserving substantial immunity from state taxation for tribal members’ on-reservation purchases and limiting some state tax and jurisdictional assertions depending on their connection to reservation status and statutory authorization.


Washington v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Rsrv., 447 U.S. 134 (1980)