OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

The Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2013

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 17, 2014
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Indigenous Peoples Taxes

Ms. JENKINS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3043, the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act.

Under what is known as the general welfare doctrine, the IRS excludes a broad array of public services for purposes such as education, public safety, health, housing, and culture from taxation; however, this has not always been the case for tribal nations.

Recently, the IRS has challenged tribal general welfare programs, despite many of these being nearly identical to tax exempt programs provided by Federal, State, and local governments.

Members of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, the Kickapoo, Iowa, and the Sac and Fox Nation in Kansas have all voiced their concerns to me about invasive IRS audits and examinations that seek to tax government programs and benefits to their members.

This bicameral and bipartisan legislation will positively affect many Native Americans and is an important step in bringing IRS treatment of the tribes in line with how they are currently treating States.


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