Washington State Dept. of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Inc.

Washington tried to apply its fuel-import tax to Cougar Den, a Yakama-owned company that hauls fuel by highway from Oregon to the Yakama Reservation. The Supreme Court said the 1855 Yakama treaty barred that tax as applied here and affirmed the lower court.

The Court affirmed, but the record provided here does not give a vote count or opinion lineup.

The decision limits how Washington can tax certain transportation tied to Yakama treaty rights. For example, it affects Yakama-owned businesses that move goods over public highways to the reservation.

The Supreme Court has finished this case. Washington and lower courts must apply the decision in similar disputes involving the Yakama treaty and highway transportation.

The dispute was whether Washington could charge its fuel-import tax when Cougar Den moved fuel by highway to the Yakama Reservation. The company said the 1855 treaty protected that travel.

Yakama-owned businesses that transport goods over public highways to the reservation are directly affected. State tax officials also must account for the treaty limits recognized here.

The case is over at the Supreme Court. Washington must follow the ruling, and lower courts may use it in future Yakama treaty tax disputes.