Mixed Media

Panel discussion on taxes and the artist at the Community Convention Center

The right-brained among us may not always have the best heads for numbers and finances, and judging by the state of some artist studios, a tax audit could be a logistical nightmare. Creative types might need a skilled attorney who can help to navigate the finer points of taxation and the arts. That’s where tax attorney R. Tracy Sprouls and certified public accountant Robert De Pasquale come in. Sprouls was a litigator for 11 years in Roswell before joining Rodey Law Firm in Albuquerque, where he specializes in entity formation, corporate law, state and federal tax planning, tax controversies, and estate planning. He’s also an award-winning lawyer, having been named Albuquerque Litigation-Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year for 2016 by Best Lawyers in America. De Pasquale moved to New Mexico in 2005 from Southern California, where he was a senior accountant at a CPA firm in Irvine, as well as having held positions in Santa Ana and Costa Mesa. De Pasquale’s expertise is in tax matters for individuals and businesses in the retail, restaurant, corporate, non-profit, and medical fields. He’s a committee member of the New Mexico chapter of the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure.

At 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28, Sprouls and De Pasquale join moderator Doug Nelson, a CPA and advisor at TCI Wealth Advisors, for a free panel about what to do with all that paperwork that lies buried under mountains of your half-formed masterpieces and works in progress. They’ll cover income taxes, gross receipts tax, out-of-state sales, and audits. The talk, “Taxes and the Artist: Current Tax Issues for New Mexico Artists, Galleries, and Freelance Creatives,” takes place at the Santa Fe Arts Commission’s Community Gallery (201 W. Marcy St.) inside the Santa Fe Community Convention Center.

— Michael Abatemarco