Tribal Treaty Rights Trump State Tax on Fuel, High Court Rules

A tribal-owned business in Washington won’t have to pay a more than $3 million tax bill after the U.S. Supreme Court said the tax was preempted by an 1855 treaty.

Justice Neil Gorsuch sided with the court’s more liberal justices in a 5-4 decision finding that Washington’s fuel tax couldn’t be applied to Cougar Den Inc., a business owned by a member of the Yakama Nation that imports fuel from Oregon.

The five-justice majority, however, split to create a 3-2 plurality for the court. The five justices in the majority disagreed over which specific provision in the 1855 treaty preempted ...