In its decision on South Dakota v. Wayfair on June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 1992 precedent that excused out-of-state retailers from collecting and remitting state sales tax when selling products to residents of a state. The seller was only required to collect sales tax if they had a physical presence such as a brick-and-mortar store or an employee within the buyer’s state legal boundaries.

With the recent ruling, physical presence is no longer required for a state to impose a sales tax on sellers, and states stand to collect potentially billions of dollars in sales taxes from remote sellers. While states aim to maximize a potential windfall of new tax revenue, tribes should be exploring the impact on their sales tax collection. Read more. Read More

On September 6, the Senate passed H.R. 6124, the Tribal Social Security Fairness Act of 2018. The bill, which amends Title II of the Social Security Act, was passed by both the House and Senate by unanimous consent in identical form. It was presented to the President on September 12 and signed into law on September 20.

Currently, tribal council members are not allowed to pay into the Social Security program, but state and local government officials are. The Act corrects this by allowing tribal governments to opt in to agreements that provide Social Security coverage (including Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits) to council members. Read more. Read More

On August 14, the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) announced the approval of non-binding guidance on Class III Minimum Internal Control Standards (MICS).

The NIGC’s Class III MICS were last substantively revised in 2005. In 2006, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that NIGC lacked authority to enforce or promulgate Class III MICS. Since that time, the Class III MICS have remained untouched. Read more. Read More