Oklahoma Justices Timid About Income Tax Break for Tribal Members

Several Oklahoma Supreme Court justices appeared hesitant at oral argument Wednesday to issue a broad ruling that all Native Americans living and working on their tribes’ reservations are exempt from state income tax.

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation wants the justices to extend the US Supreme Court’s 2020 holding in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which held the Major Crimes Act confers jurisdiction for serious crimes involving Native Americans in Indian country on federal courts. The Oklahoma Tax Commission argues the reservation isn’t “Indian country” for the purpose of state law.

Justice Dustin P. Rowe questioned whether it was proper for the ...