Arizona Department of Revenue v. Blaze Construction Co.

Over several years, the Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted with Blaze Construction Company to build, repair, and improve roads on several Indian reservations located in Arizona. At the end of the contracting period, the Arizona Department of Revenue (Department) issued a tax deficiency assessment against Blaze for its failure to pay Arizona's transaction privilege tax on the proceeds from its contracts with the Bureau; that tax is levied on the gross receipts of companies doing business in the State. Blaze protested the assessment and prevailed in administrative proceedings, but the Arizona Tax Court granted the Department summary judgment. The Arizona Court of Appeals reversed, rejecting the Department's argument that United States v. New Mexico, 455 U.S. 720, controlled, and holding that federal law preempted the tax's application to Blaze. ==Opinion of the court==

The Supreme Court issued an opinion on March 2, 1999. The court decided that it did not make a difference that the government contractor's work was on a reservation, so it announced a decision that applied to all government contractors. ==Subsequent developments==