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Opinion of the Court
also, e. g., Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411 U. S. 145, 148 (1973).
In response, Oklahoma urges that Indian tribes and their members are not inevitably, but only " 'generally,' " immune from state taxation. Brief for Petitioner 19 (quoting Blackfeet Tribe, 471 U. S., at 764). At least as to some aspects of state taxation, Oklahoma asserts, an approach "balancing the state and tribal interests" is in order. Brief for Petitioner 17. Even if the legal incidence of the fuels tax falls on the Tribe (as retailer), Oklahoma concludes, tax immunity should be disallowed here because "the state interest supporting the levy is compelling, . . . the tribal interest is insubstantial, and . . . the state tax would have no effect on 'tribal governance and self-determination.' " Id., at 22 (emphasis in original).
In the alternative, Oklahoma argues that the Court of Appeals "erred in holding that the legal incidence of the fuel tax falls on the retailer." Id., at 10. Moreover, the State newly contends, even if the fuels tax otherwise would be impermissible, Congress, in the 1936 Hayden-Cartwright Act, 4 U. S. C. § 104, expressly permitted state taxation of reservation activity of this type. Brief for Petitioner 23-24.
We set out first our reason for refusing to entertain at this late date Oklahoma's argument that the Hayden-Cartwright Act expressly permits state levies on motor fuels sold on Indian reservations. We then explain why we agree with the Tenth Circuit on the Tribe's exemption from Oklahoma's fuels tax.
A
On brief, the State points out—for the first time in this litigation—that the Hayden-Cartwright Act, 4 U. S. C. § 104, expressly authorizes States to tax motor fuel sales on "United States military or other reservations." § 104(a). The Act's word "reservations," Oklahoma maintains, encompasses Indian reservations. Brief for Petitioner 23-24. We decline to address this question of statutory interpretation.
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