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In an article published in this journal in 2000, Chief C.T. (Manny) Jules wrote:
Property tax systems have been an effective means of developing First Nation economies. They have produced benefits far beyond property tax revenues. They have given First Nation communities the means to improve their infrastructure and thereby attract more private investment and promote economic development. This investment has created jobs and lease revenues. Property tax systems have improved the administrative capacity and business culture of many First Nations. These improvements have created the confidence and capacity that First Nation governments need to successfully assert their jurisdiction in other areas, including other types of taxation.1
In the 20 years since Chief Jules made this observation, the First Nation property tax landscape has changed dramatically. The number of First Nations with property taxes has almost quadrupled, increasing from 74 in 19982 to 275 in 2019-20.3 The First Nations Fiscal Management Act (FMA) enacted in 20054 changed the legal environment under which First Nation property tax systems operate and created the First Nations Tax Commission. The Canadian government has accepted the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and made a commitment to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which includes the right to self-determination.5
These changes have coincided with growth in Canadian research in Indigenous law, economics, and other scholarship,6 but only a handful of papers have been written on First Nation taxation in the Canadian context.7 Since 2000, the Canadian Tax Journal has published only two articles focusing on the topic.8 Until very recently, none of the leading Canadian income taxation textbooks in accounting contained any discussion of the unique tax situation of people with status under the Indian Act,9 and First Nations have difficulty finding lawyers and real estate agents with experience in First Nation property taxation.
This Policy Forum is a first step toward addressing this knowledge deficit. The first two articles, by Audrey Boissonneault and André Le Dressay respectively, discuss the legal context for First Nation property taxation and debate the question of what kind of legislative framework best advances the goals of self-government and First Nation self-determination. The next two articles, by Mike Icton and Devan Mescall, and Kate McCue and Bill McCue, respectively,...