The firm’s tax law division chief, Suzanne Wood Bruckner, was a key figure in a victory for New Mexico business during the 2015 legislative session. SB356 created a fairer appeal process for taxpayers in New Mexico.
The Tax Administrative Hearings Office Act created the Administrative Hearings Office and administratively attached it to the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), separate from the Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD).
The law creates a more independent hearing bureau by moving the bureau to DFA and establishing the position of a chief hearing officer. It also establishes a mechanism for appointing a chief hearing officer independent from TRD. The law retains existing procedures for tax protests and motor vehicle administrative hearings.
Ms. Bruckner, who is also the Taxation Policy Committee Chair of the Association of Commerce and Industry, assisted with the passage, along with Richard Anklam of the New Mexico Tax Research Institute. The governor signed the bill into law on April 7, 2015.