A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, exempted from the gross receipts tax are receipts of:

(1) the United States or any agency, department or instrumentality thereof;

(2) the state of New Mexico or any political subdivision thereof;

(3) any Indian nation, tribe or pueblo from activities or transactions occurring on its sovereign territory; or

(4) any foreign nation or agency, instrumentality or political subdivision thereof, but only when required by a treaty in force to which the United States is a party.

B. Receipts from the sale of gas or electricity by a utility owned or operated by a county, municipality or other political subdivision of a state are not exempted from the gross receipts tax.

C. Receipts from the operation of a cable television system owned or operated by a municipality are not exempted from the gross receipts tax.

History: 1953 Comp., § 72-16A-12.1, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 144, § 6; 1991, ch. 8, § 4; 1993, ch. 31, § 3; 1993, ch. 208, § 7; 1994, ch. 45, § 2; 1998, ch. 89, § 1.

The 1998 amendment, effective July 1, 1998, added Paragraph A(4) and made minor stylistic changes.

The 1994 amendment, effective July 1, 1994, rewrote Subsection A, which read: "Exempted from the gross receipts tax are the receipts of the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof or the state of New Mexico or any political subdivision thereof"; and substituted "a state" for "the state" in Subsection B.

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, designated the former provisions as Subsections A and B and added Subsection C.

The 1991 amendment, effective July 1, 1991, deleted "water" following "gas" in the second sentence and made a related stylistic change.

Disbursement agents of federal funds immune from gross receipts tax. — Agents for the disbursement of federal funds are constitutionally immune from application of the gross receipts tax to those funds. United States v. New Mexico, 624 F.2d 111 (10th Cir. 1980), aff'd, 455 U.S. 720, 102 S. Ct. 1373, 71 L. Ed. 2d 580 (1982).

United States not excluded from state tax proceedings involving its contractors. — The United States may not properly be excluded, under all circumstances, from state tax proceedings involving its contractors, since the contracts obligate the United States to provide funds necessary to defray all costs incurred in the performance of contracts, including taxes. United States v. New Mexico, 624 F.2d 111 (10th Cir. 1980), aff'd, 455 U.S. 720, 102 S. Ct. 1373, 71 L. Ed. 2d 580 (1982).