"Just the Facts, Ma'am"

Sault Ste. Marie, Mi...

Sergeant Friday on Dragnet when discussing a burglary with a lady : " Just the facts, Ma'am. "

...The tax exemption for directors doing treaty related work was the brainchild of one of the now infamous 7 + 1 defendants. Federal grants to the tribes are regulated by the solicitor general's office and are taxed as income by the IRS. The tax exemption effectively created a tax loophole for the tribe.

...Directors received a 17 to 20 % exemption and the chairman received a 25 % exemption. When treaty related work was done, this tax exemption effectively paid a large portion of their
salaries...$ 11,390.00 toward each director's and $ 25,000.00 toward the chairman's.

...When negoiations with the state on the hunting and fishing consent decree were ongoing, the tribe met the treaty related work requirement, and the exemptions were claimed. Subsequently, when the exemptions continued to be claimed over time until last year, tax auditors called them into question.

...Rather than doing a time study and showing how they were claiming the tax exemptions legitimately, the directors raised the tribal support budget and paid themselves out of it ( casino
profits )...to the tune of $ 150,000.00...a lot of your money.

...Obviously the directors didn't want to call attention to the fact that they weren't attending enough conservation committee or Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority meetings ( doing treaty related work ) to continue to claim the tax exemptions.

...At a time when they've been busy trimming the budget and taking services away from the membership, they weren't doing their own jobs and, as a result, they ended up costing the tribe tens of thousands. They didn't want the membership to know it...because it was unconscionable. And they didn't want the IRS to take them to task...because they were claiming the
exemptions illegally.

.Thank you, Charles Forgrave