Nez Perce Tribal Member's Tax Appeal Denied

The Lewiston Morning Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho) Tuesday, February 15, 2000

Tribal member's tax appeal denied; State board upholds earlier decision against Kauffman
By Kathy Hedberg
Of the Tribune

The Idaho Board of Tax Appeals has upheld an earlier Lewis County Board of Equalization decision and denied a tax appeal on property belonging to a Nez Perce tribal member.to the tax rolls and Kauffman's appeal for tax exemption was denied for the 1999 tax year.

In a decision issued Friday, the board decided against Jo Ann Kauffman of Kamiah on a city lot she purchased in 1997.

The land had been on the county's tax rolls, but after Kauffman bought it, it was removed because she is an enrolled tribal member.

Last year the Lewis County Commissioners said the land should be returned to the tax rolls and Kauffman's appeal for tax exemption was denied for the 1999 tax year.

A hearing was held in Nezperce last November, and the case was referred to the state board for a final decision. But in a letter to the state board dated Feb. 8, Kauffman withdrew her appeal and said she will begin paying "this unjust and unfair assessment, under protest, pending whatever final determination is ultimately rendered in federal court regarding Lewis County's assertion that the Nez Perce Reservation has been diminished."

Kauffman said she believes the Nez Perce Tribe, rather than an individual member, should be litigating the issue. During the hearing in November, Kauffman said she believed it was improper for the commissioners to bring up the issue of reservation diminishment in her appeal.Kauffman's husband, Tom Keefe, suggested it was the county's involvement in the North Central Idaho Jurisdictional Alliance that prompted them to mention the diminishment debate.

In her letter to the state board, Kauffman said when the county interjected the diminishment issue into the tax hearing, "I was disappointed but not really surprised. As a member of the (alliance) Lewis County and other local governmental units have vowed to seek every opportunity to destroy whatever jurisdiction the Nez Perce Tribe still enjoys under its treaties.

"The Nez Perce Tribe, through its elected officials, needs to decide where and when that battle is to be joined." Kauffman said since no Idaho state court or administrative body has authority to make a valid decision regarding federal treaty rights, continuing the debate over her tax assessment in the state system is pointless. "As the recent revelations regarding Judge (Barry) Wood have demonstrated,the courts of the state of Idaho are not a forum where the Nez Perce Tribe or its members are likely to find fairness or justice," Kauffman said.

Wood has been accused of a conflict of interest in the Snake River Basin Adjudication, over which he's presiding. He issued the ruling the reservation was diminished.

Kauffman intends to wait until a federal court decision regarding the extent of Idaho's authority and the tribe's treaty rights are defined. If such a decision supports her right to be free from the Lewis County taxes, Kauffman said she will seek a refund of all taxes she paid to the county.