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WAGNON v. PRAIRIE BAND POTAWATOMI NATION Opinion of the Court
(hereinafter Kansas Dept. of Revenue Letter) (“The legal incidence of the Kansas fuel tax rests with Davies, the dis tributor, who is up-stream from Nation, the retailer”). The United States, as amicus, contends that this conclu sion is foreclosed by the Kansas Supreme Court’s decision in Kaul v. State Dept. of Revenue, 266 Kan. 464, 970 P. 2d 60 (1998). The United States reads Kaul as holding that the legal incidence of Kansas’ motor fuel tax rests on the Indian retailers, rather than on the non-Indian distributors. And, under the United States’ view, so long as the Kansas Su preme Court’s “ ‘definitive determination as to the operating incidence’ ” of its fuel tax is “ ‘consistent with the statute’s reasonable interpretation,’ ” it should be “ ‘deemed conclu sive.’ ” Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 10 (quot ing Gurley v. Rhoden, 421 U. S. 200, 208 (1975)). We disagree with the United States’ interpretation of Kaul. In Kaul, two members of the Citizen Band Potawa tomi Tribe of Oklahoma sought to enjoin the enforcement of Kansas’ fuel tax on fuel delivered to their gas station located on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe of Kansas’ Reserva tion. The Kansas Supreme Court determined that the sta tion owners had standing to challenge the tax because the statute provided that the distributor was entitled to “ ‘charge and collect such tax . . . as a part of the selling price.’ ” Kaul, supra, at 474, 970 P. 2d, at 67 (quoting Kan. Stat. Ann. § 79–3409 (1995); emphasis deleted). The court determined that the station owners were not entitled to an injunction, however, because they were not members of a Kansas tribe and thus there had “been no showing by Retailers that payment of fuel tax to Kansas interferes with the self government of a Kansas tribe or a Kansas tribal member.” 266 Kan., at 477, 970 P. 2d, at 69. The court then noted that “the legal incidence of the tax on motor fuel rests on non tribal members and does not affect the Potawatomi Indian reservation within the state of Kansas.” Ibid.
