Ramah Navajo School Board, Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of New Mexico explained

Litigants:Ramah Navajo School Board, Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of New Mexico
Arguedate:April 28
Argueyear:1982
Decidedate:July 2
Decideyear:1982
Fullname:Ramah Navajo School Board, Inc., et al. v. Bureau of Revenue of New Mexico
Usvol:458
Uspage:832
Parallelcitations:102 S. Ct. 3394; 73 L. Ed. 2d 1174; 1982 U.S. LEXIS 50; 50 U.S.L.W. 5101
Prior:Ramah Navajo School Board., Inc., et al. v. Bureau of Revenue of New Mexico, 625 P.2d 1225 (New Mex. App. 1980)
Subsequent:720 P.2d 1243 (New Mex. App. 1986)
Holding:New Mexico was not authorized to impose taxes on a construction company building a school on a Native American reservation.
Majority:Marshall
Joinmajority:Burger, Brennan, Blackmun, Powell, O'Connor
Dissent:Rehnquist
Joindissent:White, Stevens
Lawsapplied:U.S. Const. Art. I ยง 8

Ramah Navajo School Board, Inc. v. Bureau of Revenue of New Mexico, 458 U.S. 832 (1982), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the state was not authorized to impose taxes on a construction company building a school on a Native American (Indian) reservation.

The board operates Pine Hill Schools.

Background

The children of Ramah Navajo Chapter of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico attended a public high school that was near the Navajo Reservation until the state closed the school in 1968. No other public schools were nearby, and children either did not attend high school or had to go to a federal Indian boarding school, none of which were close to the reservation. The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department assessed taxes on the construction company who built the school.

See also