Taxing railways a no-go, says court

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Five British Columbia bands will likely appeal a recent federal court

decision which ruled that Native bands do not have the right to tax

companies that run rail and communication lines across reserves. The

court set aside tax assessment notices for the CP, CN Esquimalt and

Nanaimo railways as well as the Unitel communication lines running

through the Nanaimo, Matsqui Seabird, Boothroyd and Kamloops reserves.

This is a setback for the First Nations who used the case as a test of

their taxation powers. Arthur Pape, a lawyer for the Matsqui band, said

band members get all the downsides of having railways go throught their

communities, but get none of the benefits.