Apr. 17—A new bill drafted by the legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee would establish a special panel to look into the taxation of certain personal property on the reservation lands the federal government holds in trust for the casino-owning Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes.
Spurred by ongoing debate over the taxes Ledyard and Montville levy on non-Indian property owned by lessees and vendors, the measure calls for a “working group” to report its findings by Jan. 1, 2024.
Representatives of the tribes, Montville’s mayor and others have expressed support for the new bill, which was vetted Friday during a public hearing in Hartford.
Earlier in the current legislative session, tribal leaders and municipal officials took opposing views in testifying on a bill exempting certain personal property from taxation. On Friday, Rodney Butler, the Mashantucket chairman, again decried what he called “the racist and unjust tax policy” that allows Ledyard to tax personal property on the Mashantucket reservation, which includes the tribe’s Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Ledyard and Montville both tax such personal property as furniture, fixtures and equipment at non-Indian restaurants and retail shops operated by Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, respectively, Butler said. Ledyard assesses about $600,000 in such taxes annually, while Montville collects about $700,000.
“This despite the fact that no municipal services are utilized within Mashantucket to support the non-Indian property owners,” Butler said.
Mashantucket tribal government provides all its own services, including police, firefighters, health inspectors and water and sewer, he said. In many cases, the tribe absorbs the local taxes vendors pay, and typically refrains from levying its own taxes in addition to those assessed by Ledyard, thereby avoiding dual taxation.
Butler said existing tax policy has a chilling effect on tribal economic development.
The Mohegan Tribe also supports an end to local taxation of personal property on federally recognized reservations, and also…