Hugo Black

“ It runs counter to any traditional concept of the guardian and ward relationship to suppose that a ward should be exempted from taxation by the nature of his status, and the fact that the federal government is the guardian of its Indian ward is no reason, by itself, why a state should be precluded from taxing the estate of the Indian. We have held that the Indians, like all other citizens, must pay federal income taxes. ”

“ The origin of restrictions upon the fund of members of the Five Civilized Tribes is somewhat different from that upon the lands, but the effect of the restrictions upon the taxability of the cash and securities in the three estates with which we are dealing is the same. Proceeds from sales or leases of restricted lands have always been regarded as 'trust' or 'restricted' funds by the Secretary of the Interior, who by regulations has required them to be paid to him or his representatives and held for the benefit of the Indian owner. ”

“ There can be no doubt of Congress' plenary power to exempt Indians and their property from all forms of state taxation. Such power exists to prevent impairment of the manner in, or means by which Congress effectuates its Indian policy, at least so long as Congress has not determined that the interests of the Indians require their complete release from tutelage or the final termination of the United States' guardian hip over them. ”

“ It is true that our interpretation of the 1933 statute must be in accord with the generous and protective spirit which the United States properly feels toward its Indian wards, but we cannot assume that Congress will choose to aid the Indians by permenently granting them immunit from taxes which they are as able as other citizens to pay. ”

“ The many cases dealing generally with the problem of Indian tax exemptions provide no basis for the government's argument that Congress, in view of the existing legal framework, must have assumed that it would immunize the securities and cash from estate taxes by restricting their alienation. ”

“ The taxes imposed upon them must always be properly related to their capacity to pay. For them an income tax would be infinitely better than a general property tax because of its direct relationship to their capacity to pay. The returns from such a tax would obviously be extremely small at the outset, but they would increase with the increasing productivity of the Indians.' The Problem of Indian Administration, note 13, supra, 478; and see also 43, 98.↑ The deceased Indians in these three cases were enrolled full-blood Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes. ”

“ The judgment and the insurance policy are to be treated as in a class with the personal property, cash, and securities. It is conceded that the 160 acres of inherited property held by the deceased was taxable at the time of his death because in excess of the exemption permitted by the 1928 Act, and this land is, therefore, subject to the estate tax. While the status of the deceased 4/5's interest in a 40-acre tract is not clear from the record, no showing has been made that it is not taxable. ”

“ Congress cannot have intended to impose federal income and inheritance taxes on the Indians and at the same time exempt them by implication from similar state taxes.
Congress has passed laws under which Indians have become full fledged citizens of the State of Oklahoma. ”

“ Here is a tax based solely on ability to pay. [15] 'Only the same duties are exacted as from our own citizens. The burden must rest somewhere. Revenue is indispensable to meet the public necessities. It is unreasonable that this small portion of it shall rest upon these Indians?' The Cherokee Tobacco, supra, 11 Wall. ”

“ Congress has regarded their members of the half Indian blood or more, whether enrolled or not, as restricted tribal Indians subject to federal control. The fact that these Indians are citizens is not inconsistent with their restricted status or the exercise of federal supervision over them. ”

“ If there could be any doubt of this proposition it is surely removed by a later clause of the 1933 statute which provides that all minerals extracted from the land should be subject to state taxation. ”

“ This allotment program evolved out of the historical background sketched above, and took its cue from the previous protection and freedom from state control accorded Indians and their lands. The Indian surrendered tribal land, protected against state taxation as well as against all other forms of voluntary and involuntary encumbrance and alienation. Cf. The Kansas Indians, supra; The New York Indians, supra. Under the various allotment acts he received in return land which was intended to have the same measure of protection for a temporary period, generally subject to extension. ”