United States v. New Mexico

We are presented here with a recurring problem: to what extent may a State impose taxes on contractors that conduct business with the Federal Government?

HH

A

This case concerns the contractual relationships between three private entities and the United States. The three agreements involved are typical in most respects of management contracts devised by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), now the Department of Energy (DOE). Like many of the Government’s contractual undertakings, DOE management contracts generally provide the private contractor with its costs plus a fixed fee. But in several ways…