It’s church versus state in a local taxation battle.
Episcopal church officials say the property tax assessment on land next to Holy Apostles Church on the Oneida Indian Reservation is unlawful because it’s designated a cemetery.
Village of Hobart assessor Mike Denor says 23 acres that have a 2010 property tax obligation of about $600 are mostly woods, and even calling it a cemetery “is kind of a stretch.”
Umm, isn’t the reservation Federal property and therefore exempt from taxation?
It’s complicated. No. Once land becomes is out of “Trust” and is alienated from the Tribe (church ownership, or ownership by someone not enrolled, or land owned by an enrolled member but taken out of “trust”). Most Reservations are a checkerboard of jurisdiction. Generally the County has the authority over land that is no longer in Trust. They are the ones that would be taxing the land. While States allow for tax exemption of church property it normally is for that land that is not directly engaged in its religious purpose.
On a finer note, the land itself is not “federal property.” It belongs to the Tribe who itself is Sovereign. And if it is a Federally Recognized Tribe then it “enjoys” a government to government relationship with the United States on a par with the relationship between the States and the Federal Government. So the land is held in Trust, but is under the legal authority of the Tribe. Like I said, it can become complicated.