State shouldn't tax Choctaw Indians' business operations

By Staff
Oct. 4, 2001
Eight years ago, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and the state of Mississippi entered into a binding, legal compact, negotiated in good faith, with terms that have allowed the tribe to prosper. One element of the deal exempted the tribe from paying casino or sales taxes on its operations, which are technically located on Indian-owned land.
Today, proceeds from the tribe's casino investments and varied other more traditional business enterprises are helping tribe members achieve a better quality of life. The tribe has become a model success story the state should emulate, not irritate.
Unlike other major projects that have appeared on Mississippi's economic horizon, such as the $930 million Nissan plant in central Mississippi, the tribe's efforts have been without any massive state subsidies. The tribe neither requested nor desired an infusion of state money when it decided to build Silver Star or a second casino, Golden Moon, at an announced cost of $750 million.
7,000 new jobs
The Choctaws have created almost 7,000 permanent full-time jobs on the reservation, both in east central Mississippi and Ocean Springs. The tribe is now among the largest and most stable employers in the state of Mississippi.
In short, under the very capable leadership of Chief Phillip Martin, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is doing just fine without the strings attached to state financial help. The tribe runs its own government, schools, health care system, law enforcement, transportation system and business enterprises. The tribe took the initiative, assumed the risks of economic development, borrowed money and as a result of their own actions have flourished.
Now, at this late stage, as the Choctaws enjoy the fruits of years of hard work, Sen. Jack Gordon, D-Okolona, is raising the specter of renegotiating the compact and taxing Indian casino and, possibly, other business operations. Gordon, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, knows the state is desperate for new money, but this proposal is about as disingenuous as it gets. The state of Mississippi doesn't deserve a dime of Indian casino earnings.
Martin informed lawmakers that if the state starts taxing the tribe, the Choctaws should get state help for schools, roads, law enforcement, health care and other services now paid by the tribe. Obviously, the state has no money to spend in support of such efforts. Currently, the Legislature has no authority to tax an Indian casino. It would be up to the Choctaws to agree to renegotiate their compact, and that's not likely considering the Choctaws' success.
Growth has its price
Now, at a time when after many years of hard work and sacrifice we are realizing the benefits of our own labors, we are being noticed for all the wrong reasons," Martin wrote. "Tribal revenues are in fact taxes because we spend them to provide tribal government services that are not provided to us by the federal or the state government.
This growth has not been achieved without paying a price. The tribe has committed to repaying more than $300 million in bonds and bank loans, and we have a very high overhead and operating expenses to meet every month.''
Martin makes excellent points. He also makes one more worthy of thought by any state legislator thinking of tampering with the compact:
What is anyone who is contemplating major investments in this state to think about the business climate if every time the political winds change, the state decided that deals made in good faith have no validity?''
The state's word must be its bond and the Choctaws must remain free to earn their own destiny.