Promote cooperative relationships among the commissioners
/regulators of tribal gaming enterprises and other organizations;
Promote exchange of thoughts, information and ideas which foster regulatory standards and enforcement that lead to consistent regulatory practices and methods of operations among the NTGC/R members;
Promote educational seminars, which includecommissioners
/regulator training and other related activities; and
The NTGC/R may act as a gaming regulatory advisory group to tribal gaming organizations and others.
IRS Modifies Rules for Indian Gambling Revenues Washington, D.C. (November 15, 2011)
By Michael Cohn, Accounting Today - The Internal Revenue Service has issued a new revenue procedure that provides a safe harbor for Native American tribes to establish trusts for tribal members who are minors or legally incompetent for the distribution of gambling revenues under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Revenue Procedure 2011-56 clarifies, modifies, and supersedes Rev. Proc. 2003-14 in response to comments received about the older rules.
Native American tribes and their members had requested guidance from the IRS on determining the taxable years in which beneficiaries must include in gross income amounts transferred to, or earned by, an IGRA trust, and under what circumstances a tribe would be considered the grantor and owner of an IGRA trust.
The new revenue procedure, which the IRS released Monday, provides a safe harbor under which beneficiaries of an IGRA trust are not required to include amounts in gross income under the economic benefit doctrine when transferred to, or earned by, the IGRA trust, but must include trust distributions in income when actually or constructively received.
If the provisions of the revenue procedures are followed, an Indian tribe is treated as the grantor and owner of the trust. The trust beneficiary is not taxed on distributions to the trust or income earned by the trust until they are actually or constructively received.
Under IGRA, an Indian tribe may make per capita payments to tribal members from gaming revenues if the interests of minors and other legally incompetent persons who are entitled to receive the per capita payments are protected and preserved. Native American tribes frequently use trusts to maintain and preserve the minor and incompetent members’ interests through IGRA trusts.
In 2003, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2003-14, which provided safe harbor requirements for IGRA trusts. IGRA trusts meeting these requirements are treated as tribally owned grantor trusts, and the per capita payments or trust earnings are not included in the beneficiaries’ incomes until actually or constructively received.
In addition to providing a safe harbor, Revenue Procedure 2003-14 sought public comments on the safe harbor requirements. After receiving and considering numerous comments, the IRS published Revenue Procedure 2011-56.
The new revenue procedure clarifies that an IGRA trust must be an ordinary trust (pursuant to 26 C.F.R. Section 301.7701-4(a)) for federal tax law purposes; clarifies that trustees may make staggered distributions to beneficiaries at different ages or upon the occurrence of specific events rather than distributing all the trust assets when the beneficiary attains a specified age; eliminates the references to federal and local trust law, as the validity of trusts is governed by state or tribal law; broadens the class of survivors who may inherit a beneficiary’s trust interest; and modifies the trustee discretion provisions for making health and welfare distributions. Washington, DC, October 27th, 2011-NIGC Announces Strategic Realignment of Agency Operations.
The National Indian Gaming Commission(NIGC or Commission) announced today an organizational realignment of its Agency to enhance the regulation of Indian gaming.......read more
August 10th, 2011
The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC/Commission) announced today that it is forming a Tribal Advisory Commission (TAC) to assist in the review of Minimum Internal Control Standards and Technical Standards.(click to read more)
National Gaming Commission Tribal Advisory Board Application
August 4th, 2011
The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC/Commission) announced that it is cancelling one consultation in August, two consultations in September and one consultation in November. Other consultations scheduled for August, September and November will proceed as set forth in the Notice of Regulatory Review Schedule.
Additional information on consultation locations, times and descriptions of the regulatory groups to be discussed at each consultation, can be found on the NIGC website
Please note the following preliminary draft comment deadlines are approaching: Part 537 - Due date August 9th
Part 571 - Due date August 9th
Part 573 - Due date August 9th
Part 556 - Due date August 10th
Part 558 - Due date August 10th
Parts 580-585 - Due date August 22nd
July 28th 2011
TESTIMONY OF JAMIE HUMMINGBIRD, CHAIRMAN NATIONAL TRIBAL GAMING COMMISSIONERS / REGULATORS SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS OVERSIGHT HEARING ON INDIAN GAMING REGULATION DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE ( Click to read Oral remarks)
July 28th 2011
TESTIMONY OF JAMIE HUMMINGBIRD, CHAIRMAN NATIONAL TRIBAL GAMING COMMISSIONERS / REGULATORS SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS OVERSIGHT HEARING ON INDIAN GAMING REGULATION(click to read more)
July27, 2011-Washington D.C. Senator John McCain, accompanied by Senator Jon Kyl, introduced a bill (S. 1424) that would reinstate the commutability requirement for land-into-trust acquisitions that was recently rescinded by Larry Echo Hawk, DOI Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs. (read more)
Washington, DC July 27, 2011 — The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC/Commission) will hold a consultation on August 18-19, 2011 at the Doubletree Hotel Tulsa Downtown in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This consultation session is an opportunity for Tribal leaders to provide the Commission with substantive input during the regulatory review process. The Commission organized its review into five regulation groups. Each will proceed separately through three phases: 1) an initial phase when a preliminary draft regulation may be prepared; 2) thereafter the Commission may decide to move forward with publication of a proposed rule, if any, with an approximately sixty-day comment period; and 3) a final phase during which the Commission may decide to promulgate a final rule. Where necessary, a regulation may proceed through the regulatory review process independently from the other regulations in a particular group. (click her for more information)