JimZ_HHR

Should Indian tribes share revenues from on-Reservation Indian Casinos? The Supreme Court upheld Indian Tribes/Reservations as Sovereign Nations. So, why should govenrments tax governments? Most Indian tribes live below poverty as it is, and WE as a nation have screwed them enough, So why should states share in the revenues of indian casinos? your thoughts?

SandyBeach

What I don't understand is why so many in the Indian nations are still living in poverty. Who is benefitting from these casinos? I'm not saying the profits should be shared equally by all, but, are the workers paid decent salaries? It takes a lot of worker to run a casino and they put a lot of unemployeed Indians to work. Why are so many still extremely poor? I've never been to an Indian reservation so that's why I ask these questions.

Firewatcher

Well, the Governor of Massachusetts is counting on money from casinos to help with increasing deficits. One problem......we don't have any casinos in Massachusetts and he's already banking on it. Talk about putting the horse before the cart.

As far as taxing a government....a casino is not that.....it's an entertainment mecca that is nothing more than a legalized money siphon. Therefore, I don't have a problem with taxing them. They tax all other entertainment. But then again, you gotta have one to tax it.

Just my

And by the way.................GO PATS!

Old Lar

What SandyBeach says. The Indian (native American) casinos generate lots of revenue, however the few people who run those casinos are the ones who get the money. Sort of like the mafia.. the management gets the majority of the revenue, the community didn't benefit that much from that revenue stream. Al Capone went to jail for tax evasion, not for other criminal activity ie numbers racket, gambling, bootlegging, murder, prostitution, protection, bribery etc.

JimZ_HHR

But if a reservation is considered it's own Sovereignty, what happens on the Indian nation should stay on the Indian nation. no?

Snoopy

JimZ....

The revenues and how they are shared really depends on how the casino/gaming was originally negotiated and set-up.

For example, here is Arizona, we have many "Indian" gaming casinos. Each individual of each tribe, through their respective tribe counsils, share in the revenues. Many, many Indians are worth millions of dollars.....ON PAPER. The money is pooled, even though each individual has as allocation, into the tribes' general funds chest for the "betterment of the community".

I read in a local paper, several years ago, that one of the smaller casinos (at that time...it's much larger now) had a annual allocation of $34,000 for EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD.

Oh, I forgot to add.....the casinos here, pay a lot of money to the state for gaming, income taxes. Which gives them a lot of clout when elections (ask John McCain) and referendums are discussed. Again an example.....off track betting was discussed and almost passed (with limitations) EXCEPT for the Indian Gaming "machine" that protested.

A good friend, who has died of diabetic complications (needlessly, IMO), was a member of this tribe.

diskullman

Ststes should realize that they must do what business has done for years. Downsize, cut the endless benefits, cut the fat, stop the free ride. What happens after you let business farm out their employment needs to other countries, is that the tax base goes down, as the other countries get richer. I have a disabled son, and the state of NJ keeps sending over beaureaucrats with clipboards, driving in vehicles paid and insured by the state, with cell phones paid by the state. They basically come by, from all different departments, to tell me their funding is cut and there is nothing they can do. In business, these people would be out of a job, they literally have nothing to do, except offer sympathy, which I can get free from any bartender on Earth.
States need to realize that the tax base is not a bottomless pit, and stop inventing new ways to drain the wallet of their citizens. Why not start charging an entry feee at the border, couple a million per person, you get a pro-rated amount back when & if you leave.

Firewatcher

Well, let's see.....in Massachusetts we have the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe on Cape Cod. We also have the Aquinnah Wampanoag on Martha's Vineyard. They own property but no reservation. We have the Nipmuc Nation, which is a sub of the Algonkian tribes, but again, they own little property, but have no reservation. Finally, in Rhode Island you have what is left of the Naragansetts. Same thing. In fact, they got in a huge pissing match with the authorities for selling cigarettes out of a trailer on a lot they own. See, out here, there are no reservations. Not even for the Mic Macs in Maine. These tribes (some of the first to be seen by Europeans mind you) have never been compensated by the US Government. Granted, they didn't get shoved off their land like their counterparts west of here, rather, a whole bunch of them died of diseases they never had until the British showed up. So, no reservations. Therefore, if you don't have a reservation, you can't keep anything on it. By the way, these original tribes have been fighting for eons to be recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Mashpee Wampanoags finally have been recognized, but nobody else. So, I would say there won't be any reservations anytime soon.

JimZ_HHR

ThAT is a shame !

eat_world

As far as i see it, productivity shouldn't be taxed, but this is not productivity, this is fun (well kinda).