Washington v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation

In recent Terms we have more than once addressed the intricate problem of state taxation of matters involving Indian tribes and their members. Moe v. Salish & Kootenai Tribes, 425 U. S. 463 (1976); McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm’n, 411 U. S. 164 (1973); Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411 U. S. 145 (1973). We return to that vexing area in the present cases. Although a variety of questions are presented, perhaps the most significant is whether an Indian tribe ousts a State from any power to tax. on-reservation purchases by nonmembers of the tribe by imposing its own tax on the…