Attorney General Opinion No. 1987-070

Download or read book Attorney General Opinion No. 1987-070 written by Robert T. Stephan and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The statutory and regulatory scheme found in K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 55-609(c), 55-711(c) and K.A.R. 82-3-206 imposes an assessment to pay the conservation division expenses and administrative costs. Under this scheme the first purchaser pays the assessment and deducts it from payment of production to producers and royalty owners. Generally, as a matter of federal constitutional law, the federal government and Indian tribes are exempt from state taxation absent congressional consent. In our judgment there is implicit consent to tax the federal government in 30 U.S.C. sections 189 which authorizes a tax against a lessee of the federal government. This federal statute has been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court to authorize the tax against the lessee "as if the government were not concerned." There is also congressional authorization to tax the mineral interests of Indian tribes if the interests result from a lease issued to a non-Indian lessee pursuant to the 1924 Act found in 25 U.S.C. sections 398. However, this authorization does not exist in the Indian Mineral Leasing Act of 1938 found in 25 U.S.C. sections 396a. Therefore Indian mineral interests resulting from a lease issued to a non-Indian lessee pursuant to the 1924 Act are not exempt and those pursuant to the 1938 Act are exempt from the statutory and regulatory scheme in question. Cited herein: K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 55-609, 55-711, U.S. Const., Art. IV, sections 3, cl. 2; 30 U.S.C. sections 189, 25 U.S.C. sections 396a; 398.