Which is Better for Business Owners: Compensation or Dividends?
One of the major changes in the tax law enacted last December in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was the creation of a new deduction for…
Subject to Interpretation
“‘The words ‘subject to,’ used in their ordinary sense, mean ‘subordinate to,’ ‘subservient to’ or ‘limited by.’” Kokernot v. Caldwell, 231 S.W.2d 528 (Tex. Civ. App. – Dallas,…
Deducting Entertainment and Meal Expenses After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made major changes to the laws on business deductions for entertainment and meals, and these new rules will have some impact on…
Construction Law in New Mexico
This is a summary guide to some aspects of construction law in New Mexico that are important for out-of-state individuals or corporations to keep in mind when doing…
Which Door is Closing for Taxpayers with Foreign Financial Assets
On Sept. 28, 2018, the IRS will be closing its 2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), a program that assists taxpayers who failed to disclose foreign financial assets and to pay all tax on any income related to such assets. To patriciate…
Supreme Court Declines Review of Tenth Circuit Case Holding Tribal Acquisition of an Interest in an Allotment Defeats Eminent Domain Authority
The Supreme Court recently denied a petition to review the Tenth Circuit’s opinion in Public Service Company of New Mexico v. Barboan1. The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district’s court ruling that tribal ownership of a fractional interest in an “allotment,” land the…
Supreme Court Ducks Addressing “Immovable Property” Exception to Tribal Sovereign Immunity
As Chief Justice Roberts put it in his concurring opinion in Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren, “There should be a means of resolving a mundane dispute over property ownership, even when one of the parties to the dispute—involving non-trust, non-reservation land—is…
Update on Dakota Access Pipeline Litigation
The Dakota Access Pipeline litigation was originally brought by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in 2016, quickly joined by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, to challenge construction of the Dakota Access pipeline (“DAPL”), and specifically DAPL’s crossing of the Missouri River at…
Religious Freedom v. The Blaine Amendment: Current Challenges to a Discriminatory Remnant of the Nineteenth Century
By R. E. Thompson – Modrall Sperling and Eric Baxter – Becket Fund for Religious Liberty View as PDF Introduction The two religious freedom provisions of the First…
Cahn v. Berryman Clarifies the Medical Malpractice Act’s “Due Process Exception”
In Cahn v. Berryman, the New Mexico Supreme Court defined the contours of the “due process exception” to the statute of repose under the New Mexico Medical Malpractice Act (“MMA”).[1.2018-NMSC-002, ¶ 1, __ P.3d ___. ] Prior to this decision, the murkiness of…