AG Comments on Seminole Nation Chief Taxation Authority Clarification

OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Mike Hunter today released the following statement after Seminole Nation Chief Greg Chilcoat clarified the Seminole Nation’s authority on taxation of nonmember oil and gas producers within Seminole County.

In December, the attorney general sent the Seminole Nation a letter, asking the tribe to clarify its intent to tax producers in Seminole County after letters demanding the payment of Seminole Nation taxes were sent to oil and gas producers.

These letters were sent to oil and gas producers that are not members of the Seminole Nation nor were operating on Seminole trust land or restricted Indian allotments.

“I appreciate Chief Greg Chilcoat for his statement today clarifying the tribe’s asserted taxation authority over oil and gas producers within Seminole County only extends to those produces operating on Seminole Nation trust land or restricted allotments, and not on any land owned by non-Indians. This gives state officials and producers looking to do business in Oklahoma more certainty and a clearer path forward when operating. His move should also ease the concerns of those who thought this would be the subject of litigation, while strengthening our relationship with the Seminole Nation.”