Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

By Shannon Burns

Akwesasne CPA Barbara Montour said many Akwesasne residents have been unnecessarily worried in the past month over letters sent to them by New York State’s tax and finance department claiming the individual is responsible for paying up to thousands of dollars in back taxes.

The state sent out a total of 20,000 letters to residents of New York, claiming that each person was being assessed based on an audit that deemed them liable for additional tax payments, dating back as far as 2003.

The state based their audit on reports from the IRS, which identified New York State residents who had filed a federal income tax but not a state income tax.

However, the state neglected to take note of each individual’s address and many – or likely half– of the letters were sent to residents of Indian reservations, Montour said.

“If you live on a reservation and work on a reservation, you don’t pay taxes,” she said.

Montour was inundated with phone calls lately regarding the letters and it took her several hours to determine why the state had sent them and how easily the problem could be rectified.

“Our people don’t like letters from New York State and the federal government, “She said. “It frightens them. I felt so badly for them because I know what needs to be done. I say, ‘Where do you work?’ They say, ‘The tribe.’ I say, ‘Don’t worry about this, but we still need to respond.”

Most of the individuals who have received the letter locally are employees of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, she said. Since Mohawks living and working on the reservation are exempt from paying income tax, they had no reason legally or personally to file with the state but had still filed with the federal government.

While the letters sent locally are, in theory, a mistake, individuals are still required to respond to them. Each letter has a “disagreement” option.

“It’s an in and out,” Montour said. “If they work on the reservation and live on the reservation, it will be taken care of once we fax over the information to the audit branch.”

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s now defunct anti-tax steering committee could have handled the problem more quickly than herself, Montour said. However, funding was discontinued to the committee.

Montour will charge individuals a time and materials fee of $25 but the issue can be solved quickly and easily. She asks that individuals call to make an appointment so she can advise them on what to bring to her. Her office phone number is 518-358-4158.