VERONA - The Oneida Indian Nation is protesting the placement of its Turning Stone Casino complex and more than 200 other properties on local tax rolls, a town official said Monday.
A nation lawyer will appear today before a special Board of Assessment Review panel to contest $384 million in assessments imposed last month by the town. The Oneidas filed 217 grievances challenging the assessments, said Town Supervisor David Reed.
The Oneidas maintain they are a federally recognized tribe, and therefore, cannot be taxed, Reed said. Oneida Nation spokesman Mark Emery said the tribe had no further comment.
While town officials expected the Oneida grievances, Reed said he was surprised the nation continued to maintain they do not owe any taxes at all.
The town's assessments followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in April that the Oneidas must pay property taxes and obey local laws on former reservation land that they reacquire.
That case involved the city of Sherrill, which foreclosed on 10 parcels owned by the Oneidas because of unpaid property taxes.
"In light of the court decision, it seemed pretty clear that the game was up," Reed said.
The tribe has a 32-acre reservation near Oneida. Since opening the casino in 1993, the Oneidas have bought 217 parcels in Verona, covering 8,528 acres.
The 12-year-old casino complex, which draws four million visitors annually, was by itself valued at $362.5 million. The property taxes on the Oneida parcels will amount to about $400,000 a year. The bill is due Jan. 1.
Typically, tax assessment grievances are heard by a five-member appointed panel. But because of the magnitude of the Oneida's case, the town hired and certified an additional eight people to help handle the tribe's grievances, Reed said.
The review panel will have 10 days to render its decision following Tuesday's hearings.
Even though the Oneidas are making the same argument for each piece of property, the panel must still go through them one parcel at a time, he said.
"We all know this is going to court, so the tribe has to challenge each and every parcel individually," Reed said.
The tribe, meanwhile, has applied to the U.S. Interior Department to put all 18,000 acres it owns in Oneida and Madison counties into federal trust, a status that could bring full or partial sovereignty and exempt them from taxes.
The Oneidas maintain they are a federally recognized tribe, and therefore, cannot be taxed, Reed said. Oneida Nation spokesman Mark Emery said the tribe had no further comment.
While town officials expected the Oneida grievances, Reed said he was surprised the nation continued to maintain they do not owe any taxes at all.
The town's assessments followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in April that the Oneidas must pay property taxes and obey local laws on former reservation land that they reacquire.
That case involved the city of Sherrill, which foreclosed on 10 parcels owned by the Oneidas because of unpaid property taxes.
"In light of the court decision, it seemed pretty clear that the game was up," Reed said.
The tribe has a 32-acre reservation near Oneida. Since opening the casino in 1993, the Oneidas have bought 217 parcels in Verona, covering 8,528 acres.
The 12-year-old casino complex, which draws four million visitors annually, was by itself valued at $362.5 million. The property taxes on the Oneida parcels will amount to about $400,000 a year. The bill is due Jan. 1.
Typically, tax assessment grievances are heard by a five-member appointed panel. But because of the magnitude of the Oneida's case, the town hired and certified an additional eight people to help handle the tribe's grievances, Reed said.
The review panel will have 10 days to render its decision following Tuesday's hearings.
Even though the Oneidas are making the same argument for each piece of property, the panel must still go through them one parcel at a time, he said.
"We all know this is going to court, so the tribe has to challenge each and every parcel individually," Reed said.
The tribe, meanwhile, has applied to the U.S. Interior Department to put all 18,000 acres it owns in Oneida and Madison counties into federal trust, a status that could bring full or partial sovereignty and exempt them from taxes.
