Yakama Indian Nation v. Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau, No. 14-35165 (9th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseThe Yakama Nation, King Mountain Tobacco Company, and Delbert Wheeler brought suit for injunctive and declaratory relief seeking to bar federal agencies and officials from imposing the federal excise tax on tobacco products manufactured by King Mountain, a corporation organized, existing, and operating under the laws of the Yakama Nation. The district court granted the federal agencies’ motion to dismiss as to King Mountain and Wheeler. The court then entered summary judgment in favor of the federal agencies. The Yakama Nation appealed. The Ninth Circuit vacated the district court’s summary judgment, holding (1) Yakama Nation’s claims were barred by the Anti-Injunction Act; and (2) the Yakama Nation’s claims did not fall within the narrow exception to the Act set out in South Carolina v. Regan. Remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
Court Description: Tax. The panel vacated and remanded the district court’s summary judgment in favor of federal agencies in an action seeking to bar defendant federal agencies and officials from imposing the federal excise tax on tobacco products manufactured by King Mountain Tobacco Company – a corporation organized, existing, and operating under the laws of the Yakama Nation – for lack of jurisdiction under the Anti-Injunction Act. The panel held that the declaratory and injunctive relief sought in this case “falls squarely within the literal scope” of the Anti-Injunction Act (“Act”), 26 U.S.C. § 7421(a), which bars any suit that would restrain the assessment and collection of any tax. The panel was unpersuaded by the Yakama Nation’s contention that it is not a “person” within the meaning of the Act. The panel was also unpersuaded by the contention that the Yakama Nation’s claims fell within the narrow exception to the Act set out in South Carolina v. YAKAMA NATION V. TTB 3 Regan, 465 U.S. 367 (1984) (upholding an injunction against the collection of federal taxes on interest from state-issued bearer bonds because enforcing the jurisdictional bar would deprive the state of any opportunity to obtain review of its claims).
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