A Florida Indian tribe wants a federal appeals court to stop the Internal Revenue Service from obtaining financial records as part of a tax investigation into gambling profits.
The Miccosukee tribe seeks an order blocking IRS subpoenas from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of the court was hearing oral arguments Thursday in Miami.
The tribe is appealing a federal judge's 2011 order permitting the IRS to obtain the tribe's records from entities such as Morgan Stanley and Citibank. The tribe is claiming that as a sovereign nation the records are protected from scrutiny.
The IRS is investigating whether the 600-member tribe failed to report income and withhold taxes on millions of dollars in casino gambling profits distributed to tribal members.
