- 25 - the Oneida Tribe and therefore are not per capita payments under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), Pub. L. 100-497, 102 Stat. 2467 (1988), 25 U.S.C. secs. 2701-2721 (2000). The record in this case is insufficient for us to draw a conclusion regarding whether these payments would constitute per capita payments as that term is used in the IGRA. Mr. Doxtator testified at trial that all Tribe members under age 59-1/2 received identical $1,500 payments, while older Tribe members received larger payments. There is no evidence corroborating Mr. Doxtator's testimony that payments to Tribe members varied according to age. Under the IGRA, revenues from Indian gaming activities may be used to make per capita payments to tribe members only under arrangements that have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior. See 25 U.S.C. sec. 2710(b)(3), (d)(1)(A)(ii); 25 C.F.R. secs. 290.2, 290.5 (2004). On this record, we are unable to determine whether the payments were distributed without the Secretary's approval, in contravention of the IGRA, or whether the Secretary approved per capita payments that varied by age. In these circumstances, we conclude that petitioners have failed to meet their burden of showing error in respondent's determination that the payments were per capita payments. In any event, these payments would be subject to Federal income tax regardless of their status as per capita payments.Page: Previous 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Next
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