Washington State Dept. of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Inc. (16-1498)
argument 16-1498Washington State Dept. of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Inc.
Supreme Court of the United States
1h 0m
7 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 6 days ago
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What is the central legal dispute between Washington State and Cougar Den, Inc.?
We'll hear argument first this morning, case sixteen fourteen ninety eight, uh Washington State Department of Licensing versus Cougar Den. Mr Prussel?
Mr Chief Justice, and may it please the court. Washington's fuel tax taxes fuel. Not highway travel. The tax is non discriminatory and its incidence is off reservation. So it applies to Kouridan unless preempted by express federal law. Nothing in the Acoma Treaty preempts this tax. The treaty guarantees the tribe the right, in common with others, to travel by public highway, but it says nothing that would preempt a generally applicable tax on goods like this one. I'm sorry. Could
you tell me could you tax the tribes buying of the fuel in another state?
But
they leave your a state, they go to another state, they buy the fuel. Can you tax them in the buying of that fuel.
The other state could certainly tax them that, Your Honor. They've conceded that. Whether we could tax them is a matter of state law, I don't think so, but but but not certainly not under the tree. The
question is in my mind. whether the travel rights to freely use the highways. permit you to tax them. For an incident carrying. the fuel from another state on a highway. Through your stake, correct? Now the Court below called this an importation tax. You've been resisting that and you call it a use tax.
Right.
But if it's an importation tax, it's not equally applied. There are wholesalers of all kinds who can import without Paying the tax, correct?
Not if they lack a license like Cougar Dan, Your Honor. An unlicensed entity owes the tax when they bring the fuel into the State, regardless of how they do so, and licensed entities that buy fuel in the State pay the tax immediately within the State. So this tax applies to fuel purchased in Washington or outside of Washington.
What is the the license? Is it a way to get them not to pay? Who pays for the fuel then? once you're licensed. You're a wholesaler, you bring it in I'm assuming by vessel or by pipeline.
Well then sorry, sorry.
Then the person who buys the fuel. uses it, correct?
Well, if you're bringing it into a terminal or refinery, then then the tax is due when it's picked up at a terminal or refinery. Who actually pays the tax is a complicated question depending on whether the entity that owns the fuel in the tank uh is a supplier or not. But that's when the tax is due.
If we accept that the travel provision. entitled this tribe. to travel with goods back and forth to a market. Вітакс, віта лисенс. Just like in the fishing rights case. Then what gives you the right То чарч там. within the state. Meaning They're travelling free of tax, free of license. they go to the reservation, you can't tax them on the reservation. So I'm not quite sure. what permits you to tax them at all. Well
there's two cards. There's two crucial points about that, Your Honor. First of all, Couredan concedes that we could tax a purchase or sale that a Yakima member makes outside of the reservation, even though that would not have been taxed in eighteen fifty five. What is doing the work
the market?
At the market, yes, but but
you've just admitted that at the market where they pick this up, you couldn't tax them.
Well the point is, Your Honor, the Treaty did not preserve everything exactly as it was in eighteen fifty five. The key point here is that this Court has adopted a clear rule that as to off reservation taxes, Ta authorization state taxes can be applied to tribes if if they are nondiscriminatory and and if the instance is authorizer, and here that is the case. So
Mr. Bruce, there are a lot of issues in this case, but just to make it easier for me. Could I ask you to assume a couple of them and then co we could focus on one? So you know one issue is does the right to travel include the right to travel with goods? And I'm going to ask you to just assume that it does. And then another question is Um does this Treaty uh preempt generally applicable taxes? And I'm that's you've been talking a lot about that. And I'm just going to ask you to assume that it does.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the central legal dispute between Washington State and Cougar Den, Inc.?
0:00–5:49
2
How does the Yakima Treaty’s right‑to‑travel clause affect the state fuel tax?
5:49–13:21
3
Is the tax imposed on Cougar Den a tax on possession, transportation, or importation of fuel?
13:21–20:50
4
What arguments does the State make about the tax’s nondiscriminatory nature?
20:50–29:07
5
How do prior Supreme Court cases on fishing and treaty rights influence this case?
29:07–35:40
6
Does the treaty pre‑empt generally applicable taxes on goods carried by the tribe?
35:40–42:29
7
What are the practical implications of treating the tax as a use tax versus an importation tax?
42:29–49:37
8
What relief is the Court being asked to grant and why?
49:37–1:00:26