Chairman Keene named Co-Chair of an IRS Subcommittee on Tribal Taxation

Chairman Carla Keene has been named a co-chair of subcommittee that will make recommendations to the Internal Revenue Service on Tribal general welfare payments.

Keene traveled to Washington, D.C. recently for a meeting of the Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee (TTAC). TTAC reports to the U.S. Treasurer, Marilyn Malerba, also known as Chief Many Hearts of the Mohegan Tribe located in Connecticut.

The General Welfare Exclusion Subcommittee of TTAC will focus on identifying the impact that the taxation of general welfare payments has on Tribal citizens. If a Tribal citizen receives social security payments or disability payments, general welfare payments can disrupt their regular benefits.

“There is an urgent need from our Tribal citizens to receive the benefits and funds that they are entitled to and have earned,” Keene said during the TTAC meeting on September 16. “We as elected Tribal officials continue to fight for our Tribal citizens to be able to accept the help that we are trying to provide for
them without penalty.”

Several leaders from Pacific Northwest Tribes also serve on TTAC alongside Keene. Chairman Ron Allen of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Washington State also serves as Chair of the Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee. Chief James Allan of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe located in North Idaho is also a member of TTAC.