Grant Christensen & Andrew Appleby have published “State Tax Exemptions for Cultural Property” in the Yale Law Review Forum.
Here is the abstract:
In 2026, the California legislature enacted Assembly Bill (AB) 1485, which exempts from real property transfer taxes certain transactions that return tribal land to tribes. This Essay examines AB 1485 as a model for how state tax policy can further tribal sovereignty by facilitating the return of culturally significant land to federally recognized Indian tribes. This Essay argues that state and local taxes imposed on the transfer of land to tribal governments create practical financial barriers to reacquisition, reinforcing the historic erosion of tribal land and limiting tribes’ ability to protect sacred sites and sustain community life. Understanding these tax burdens within the broader legacy of allotment and dispossession, this Essay contends that other states should adopt more durable and inclusive exemptions than AB 1485. By reframing transfer tax exemptions as a state’s recognition of inherent tribal sovereignty, and as a modest response to the colonial foundations of state land ownership, this Essay concludes that state tax reform can serve as a meaningful tool for states to participate in rebuilding reservation communities and in strengthening tribal-state relations.
Teri Greeves, tax-exempt?
