Page:United States Reports 546.pdf/318

 546US1

Unit: $U11

[08-22-08 15:19:52] PAGES PGT: OPIN

Cite as: 546 U. S. 95 (2005)

107

Opinion of the Court

compute and remit the tax each month for the fuel received by the distributor in the State of Kansas”). The Nation disagrees. It contends that what is taxed is not the distributors’ (off-reservation) receipt of the fuel, but rather the distributors’ use, sale, or delivery of the motor fuel—in this case, the distributors’ (on-reservation) sale or delivery to the Nation. The Nation grounds support for this proposition in § 79–3408(a) (2003 Cum. Supp.). That section provides that “[a] tax . . . is hereby imposed on the use, sale or delivery of all motor vehicle fuels or special fuels which are used, sold or delivered in this state for any purpose what­ soever.” But this section cannot be read in isolation. If it were, it would permit Kansas to tax the same fuel multiple times—namely, every time fuel is sold, delivered, or used. Section 79–3408(a) must be read in conjunction with subsec­ tion (c), which speciﬁes that “the incidence of this tax is im­ posed on the distributor of the ﬁrst receipt of the motor fuel and such taxes shall be paid but once.” (Emphasis added.) The identity of the single, taxable event is revealed in the very next sentence of subsection (c), which provides that “[s]uch tax shall be computed on all . . . fuels received by each distributor.” (Emphasis added.) In short, the “use, sale or delivery” that triggers tax liability is the sale or de­ livery of the fuel to the distributor. The Kansas Depart­ ment of Revenue has issued a ﬁnal determination reaching the same conclusion. See Kansas Dept. of Revenue Letter (“[P]ursuant to the Kansas Motor Fuel Tax Act . . . the state fuel tax was imposed on Davies, a distributor, when Davies ﬁrst received the fuel at its business, a site located off of Nation’s reservation” (emphasis added)). The Nation claims further support for its interpretation of the statute in § 79–3408(d) (2003 Cum. Supp.). Section 79–3408(d) permits distributors to obtain deductions from the Kansas motor fuel tax for certain postreceipt transac­ tions, such as sale or delivery of fuel for export from the State and sale or delivery of fuel to the United States.