Warren Trading Post Co. v. Arizona Tax Comm’n, 380 U.S. 685 (1965)

Warren Trading Post Co. v. Arizona Tax Commission


No. 115


Argued March 9, 1965
Decided April 29, 1965
380 U.S. 685

APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF ARIZONA

Syllabus

Appellant, the operator of a retail trading post on the Navajo Indian Reservation under a license granted by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 261, challenged the right of Arizona to levy a tax on its income from trading with reservation Indians on the reservation. The State Supreme Court upheld the tax.

Held: Since Congress has broadly occupied the field of trading with Indians on reservations by all-inclusive regulations and statutes, the States may not impose additional burdens on the traders or the Indians, and therefore this tax may not be imposed on appellant. Pp. 686-692.

95 Ariz. 110, 387 P. 2d 809, reversed and remanded.