The Santa Fe County Assessor's Office has asked the State Department of Taxation and Revenue for help deciding a property tax issue that could have statewide implications.

The issue — which involves the taxation of pueblo lands — arose last May when Pojoaque Pueblo asked to be exempt from paying property taxes on a piece of land it had recently purchased.

The pueblo's argument for the exemption was that the land — a 139-acre parcel known as La Mesita Ranch — was once part of the pueblo and should be exempt from taxes like the rest of the pueblo land grant.

The Santa Fe County Assessor's Office originally denied the request on the grounds that the land had been in private ownership for more than 100 years and was already part of the county tax base.

According to the county's online tax calculator, the annual tax bill on the property — which has been valued by the Assessor's Office at more than $6 million — would be about $14,700 a year.

The assessor suggested the pueblo apply to the state to have the property classified as federal trust land, which would make it exempt from property taxes.

But Pojoaque Pueblo's attorney, Frank Demolli, said the tribe wasn't interested in trust land because it is owned and controlled by the federal government, unlike pueblo grant lands, which are controlled by the tribe.

A contract attorney hired by Santa Fe County has been researching the legal issues involved since last fall.

"When we denied it, we did it based on what we knew," Martinez said. "But then we found out there were some other cases in other parts of the country that also entailed that issue, so our attorney started looking at those."

Martinez said that research unearthed conflicting case law.

"In some states they've allowed these properties to be exempt, and in others they haven't been exempt," Martinez said.

Martinez said he decided to involve the state after hearing that Santa Clara Pueblo was also looking into requesting a similar exemption for some of its land.

"That's when we decided we better let Taxation and Revenue know that it's something that might catch wildfire," Martinez said. "Because it looks like it's not just one pueblo, it's going to be two or even more."

Demolli said Wednesday that the state has been in contact with Pojoaque Pueblo.

"We are in negotiations, and I feel we'll get resolution on it within a week," Demolli said. "But I don't want to say anything while the negotiations are under way."

Martinez said the state will likely issue an order telling him how to handle the case.

"We recognize that the tribes have been granted certain rights and exemptions by the federal government, and we intend to respect these tribal rights as we administer the state's property tax laws," said Taxation and Revenue Secretary Rick Homans. "We hope to announce a successful resolution of these issues shortly."

Contact Phaedra Haywood at 986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com.