Foxwood owners, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, will not appeal against a court decision that means they will have to continue paying property taxes on leased slot machines.
The tribe that owns the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut has decided not to appeal against a ruling that upheld the local government’s right to collect property taxes on slot machines leased by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.
The news comes after the 2nd U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled against the tribe back in July. That decision overturned a lower-court judge who had earlier backed the tribe against the town of Ledyard and the state of Connecticut.
The tribe has been fighting against the imposition of property taxes since 2003, and it was widely believed they would take their fight all the way to the U.S Supreme Court, but instead have decided to take the matter up with their local government within the state.
The Tribe issued the following statement to the Associated Press: “such taxes are an affront to the tribe’s sovereign authority over its territory, especially since it provides government services within the reservation.”
News emanating from the courtroom indicates that the 2nd Circuit made their ruling when they decided that other non-Indian owners of personal property on the reservation could bring similar lawsuits into being that would cost the town hundreds of thousands of pounds in litigation costs.
This view was backed by the attorney hired to represent the town, Benjamin S. Sharp, who said, “The amount of dollars involved in a single year are probably not huge, but over many years, particularly if the principle used by the tribe applied to all property, it became a significant hit to the revenues of the town.”
Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen had no comment to make, but did tip his hat in the general direction of the tribe for what he believes to be, “the willingness of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe to seek an amicable resolution to this matter through discussions with the appropriate local government authorities.”
