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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neeka who wrote (168163)	5/31/2006 5:40:26 PM
From: JDN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793807

Yes, I realized that later as I was thinking it over, that Alaska has most of the really HUGE parks. I was surprised to see that Death Valley was so large, I spent three days there in my jeep and thought I had seen it all, those areas I couldnt get into in the jeep, I hiked. I really liked Death Valley, but I was there in September, wasnt so hot. jdn

To: Neeka who wrote (168163)	5/31/2006 7:02:07 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793807

CB and I talked briefly about the Tribes and Taxes, and Giveaways...Just saw this on a link on Sound Politics.... Two tribes collect gas tax that used to go to state government 5/29/2006, 5:44 p.m. PT The Associated Press oregonlive.com OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Gas prices haven't changed significantly at a tribal pump west of Olympia, even though the state has stopped collecting its 31-cent-per-gallon gas tax there. The money that used to pay for state highways is now being collected by the tribe to support its own projects. State officials estimate the loss of tax revenue from the Squaxin Island tribal gas station and another reservation pump owned by the Swinomish tribe near La Conner could add up to between $250,000 and $350,000, said Tom Fitzsimmons, chief of staff for Gov. Chris Gregoire. The state quietly quit collecting its share of the tax at gas stations owned by the two tribes after a federal judge barred state collection of fuel taxes on reservation gas stations late last year. Advertisement When the Squaxin Island tribe stopped turning over gas taxes to the state, it imposed its own fees, equal to the state rate. The tribe hopes to use the money to build a new bridge and pay for other construction projects. But state officials are concerned about how they'll make up for the money lost to state highway projects and they worry that other tribes will try to follow the same legal path and sue the state like these two tribes. The state has tried to negotiate with the tribes for a share of the disputed gas tax revenue. Fitzsimmons has estimated the losses could pass $100 million a year if the roughly 30 tribes around Washington were to follow suit and add gas stations. State Sen. Ken Jacobsen, D-Seattle, a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, expressed concern that tax losses could be greater and highway, bridge and ferry projects threatened if tribes undercut market prices for gasoline. "Can you imagine if they got a station along I-5 some places and it's 5 cents, 10 cents cheaper?" Jacobsen said. "We've got to get to a solution," he said. "It definitely has a financial impact on the state." Kelly Croman, Squaxin tribal attorney, said there's no "mad dash" to try to undercut the price of gas on the market. The state currently rebates about $4.87 million a year in gas taxes to 14 of the state's tribes because they have long-standing agreements. Overall, the state collects more than $1 billion a year in gas taxes. The tribal rebates are based on a formula that measures the number of tribal members who live on or near a reservation, their average gasoline consumption and the amount of the state gas tax. The formula tries to exempt from the state gas tax the amount of gas purchased by tribal members, said Art Farley of the state Department of Licensing, which collects the tax. U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly of Seattle ruled in November that the state didn't have the right to collect state gas tax for any gas sold on reservations, regardless of whether the buyer was a tribal member. The state has appealed Zilly's ruling, so other tribes aren't likely to see a change in their arrangement with the state until the legal issues have been resolved. The Spokane tribe has already asked for similar treatment.