SEATTLE — The U.S. Justice Department filed a motion on Tuesday asking to join the Tulalip Indian Tribes in a federal lawsuit against the State of Washington and Snohomish County that seeks to stop them from collecting millions of dollars in taxes from non-Indian businesses and people on tribal land so that the tribe can collect those funds instead.
The Justice Department said the tribes have a constitutional right to develop reservation resources without “unlawful interference from state and local taxation.”
“The United States takes seriously the federal role in protecting tribal self-government, which has its foundation in federal statutes, treaties, and regulations,” said Assistant Attorney General John Cruden, with the department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “To this end, we are committed to eliminating barriers, such as these, which hinder tribes from developing healthy economies and providing necessary governmental services on the reservation.”
Alison Dempsey-Hall, spokeswoman for the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, said they can’t comment on open cases.