MISSION – Due to a delay in federal approval of the amended Gaming Revenue Allocation Plan (GRAP), the dividend payment to be issued on Feb. 20 will be under the current GRAP and remain taxable.
Because the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has not yet approved the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s (CTUIR) amended GRAP, which the Board of Trustees passed via Resolution 23-088 on Oct. 30, tribal members will not yet see a change in their quarterly gaming dividends.
Until the BIA in Washington, D.C., approves the amended GRAP, some of its provisions can’t be implemented, including:
• Increasing the percentage of net gaming revenue distributed from 20% up to 25%,
• Making those payments as tax exempt general welfare benefits rather than taxable gaming per capita payments, and
• Increasing the payment amount to minors that is available to the minors’ parent(s) or guardian(s) to meet the health, education and welfare needs (from $125 to $250 per quarterly payment).
“We submitted the amended GRAP for BIA approval immediately after the Board of Trustees approved it,” Board Chairman Gary Burke stated in a letter to CTUIR members. “The BIA has requested some additional information to complete their review, which we have provided. We hoped that BIA’s approval of the amended GRAP would occur in time to make the payment on February 20, but we have been informed we will not have BIA’s approval in time to make that payment.”
Therefore, the Feb. 20 payment will be made under the existing federally approved GRAP. The amount of the payment into the custodial trust that parent or guardians can request to meet the needs of minors is limited to $125.
“We will continue to work towards BIA approval of the amended GRAP to make the quarterly welfare distribution in May,” Burke stated.
He added that in addition to the gaming dividend, tribal members will also receive the annual distribution under the Enterprise Revenue Allocation Plan on Feb 20. However, that amount has not been finalized.
For more information, visit https://cuj.ctuir.org/2023/10/dividend-payments-could-increase-early-next-year/.
