Tax Policy in New Mexico

How New Mexican's Feel About Tax Policy: Results of a 2004 Poll

Who Pays Taxes in
New Mexico?

An Extraction Tax Windfall Will Not Save Us From Bad Tax Policy

Re-establishing
the Estate Tax

What's Wrong With Tax Expenditure Limits (TELs)?

Combined Reporting for NM Corporate Income Tax

February 9, 2005 - Personal Income Tax Cuts ¹ Economic Growth
Read the Report(PDF)

Who's Minding
the Store? New Mexico's Income Tax Cut: Poor Performance, Wrong Choice
Full Report(PDF)
Abridged Version (PDF)

Miscellaneous

New Report!!!

Undocumented Immigrants in New Mexico: State Tax Contributions and Fiscal Concerns-
This report tracks how much undocumented immigrants pay the state
in gross receipts and property taxes and how much undocumented immigrant children cost
the state in K-12 educational services.

Workforce
Environment Index

A report by the Economic Policy Institute - Grading Places: What Do The Business Climate Rankings Really Tell Us reveals the underlying bias of five major business ranking indices; New Mexico Voices says there is a more useful index for policymakers to use.

The Fiscal Policy Project

The Fiscal Policy Project, initiated in 2004, provides timely and credible
analysis of budget, tax and related issues in New Mexico.

The Fiscal Policy Project's primary focus is tax policy analysis and advocacy for progressive tax policy reform. Two principles of good tax policy guide this work: fairness and revenue adequacy (i.e., enough tax revenue is generated to pay for essential services provided by the government).

Tax policy should distribute the responsibility for taxes in a fair way: higher-income households able to pay more, should pay more, while lower-income households should pay a lower percentage of taxes.

Tax policy should also ensure that taxes generate enough money for the state budget to pay for essential services and functions such as: quality public education; healthcare; and public safety.

In 2003 New Mexico's income tax and capital gains taxes were radically
reduced for higher-income families. As a result, New Mexico's tax policy
now fails the two key principles of good tax policy: fairness and revenue
adequacy. It is no longer fair because higher-income families will now pay
the same percentage of income tax as low-income families, rather than their fair share. And, New Mexico tax policy now fails to generate enough money to pay for the essentials. New Mexico's budget now has a "structural deficit", meaning each year there is not enough money brought in (through taxes) to pay for the regular, annual expenses that are expected.

This problem generally leads to cuts in services and programs relied upon by everyone. To learn more about New Mexico's tax policy, see the reports
listed on the left. You will also find educational articles in our quarterly newsletter, Viewpoint, and in our newspaper columns.

The Fiscal Policy Project is part of a national initiative called the State
Fiscal Analysis Initiative. National organizations working on progressive
tax reform include United for a Fair Economy, Fair Taxes for All , and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

For more information, contact Gerry Bradley, Research Director, at 505-244-9505 ext. 23.

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Fiscal Policy Project Press Releases

• April 29, 2005 - Federal Budget Resolution Harms New Mexicans
  Despite Efforts by Congresswoman Wilson and Senator Bingaman
• April 1, 2005 - New Data Released by Department of Labor Shows Job Growth Sagging; Advocates Point to Failure of Tax Cuts in New Mexico
  
• March 1, 2005 - The President's Budget: Huge Reductions
  for Programs Vital to New Mexico While Tax Cuts for the Affluent are Extended and Expanded
• February 9, 2005 - Personal Income Tax Cuts
  ¹ Economic Growth
• February 3, 2005 - New Poll Shows Governor Richardson Out of Step With New Mexicans on Tax Policy
• June 25, 2004 - Job Watch
• April 25, 2004 - Job Watch
• February 13, 2004 - Food Tax

Opeds, Commentaries, Articles, Etc.