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Connecticut Tribe Drops Lawsuit Against Slot Machine Taxation
A Unibet news review: The tribe that owns the Foxwoods Resorts Casino in Connecticut has decided to take it on the chin, and not appeal a ruling that prevents them from blocking collection of state property taxes on their slot machines.
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation believed that the taxation rules are an affront to its sovereign authority but it’s most productive approach now would be to address the tax issue directly with local government.
The tribe initially argued that the taxes collected on leased slot machines violated federal law, but the 2nd U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled against the tribe back in July. The tribe, who owns the country’s largest casino in South Eastern Connecticut, has been paying the taxes since 2003.
Upon ruling against the tribe, the 2nd Circuit explained that a ruling in favour of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe would have brought forth a flurry of similar complaints from other non-Indian owners of personal property on the reservation, costing the town hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation costs.
"The amount of dollars involved in a single year are probably not huge, but over many years, particularly if the principle used by the tribe applied to all property, it became a significant hit to the revenues of the town," The attorney representing the town told the Associated Press.
Attorney General George Jepsen did not comment on the dispute, but did tip his hat towards the tribe for, “the willingness of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe to seek an amicable resolution to this matter through discussions with the appropriate local government authorities."