Policy Brief New Mexico is one of just nine states to effectively tax capital gains less than the wages and salaries earned by hard-working New Mexicans. Beginning in 2003, those with capital gains income – who are overwhelmingly the wealthiest in New Mexico – were allowed to deduct 50 percent of their capital gains from their state income taxes. In 2019, legislators reduced the amount to 40 percent.
Ruidoso News--According to New Mexico Voices for Children "there are major challenges when it comes to having enough food to eat, but there are common-sense policy solutions that we can take to end food insecurity and improve children’s health, well-being, and opportunities to reach their full potential."
Las Cruces Sun-News--Some of the money that supports New Mexico’s education system comes from royalties and rental payments paid by the oil and natural gas industries. Because we understand how fortunate we are to have those natural resources, we tend to forget our responsibility to be the very best stewards of them that we can be.
We applaud Senator Tom Udall’s sponsorship of this bipartisan bill. The royalty and rental rates, as well as minimum bids, charged by the Bureau of Land Management on oil and gas extraction are woefully outdated – some haven’t been increased in a century.
Santa Fe New Mexican--“This is good news for Santa Fe and good news for New Mexico,” Amber Wallin, deputy director of the nonprofit child advocacy group New Mexico Voices for Children, said of the citywide minimum wage increase. “More New Mexico families will be able to afford safe housing, great child care and fresh food, and a greater amount of kids will be able to reach their potential.”
Deming Headlight--Public lands belong to all of us, which means every New Mexican should be reaping the benefits. Yet, oil and gas companies continue to enjoy sweetheart deals for drilling on our public lands, as exemplified by this week’s lease sale. We urge Congress to take action and update the federal government’s fiscal policies for public lands drilling; our children’s futures depend upon it.
Policy Brief All New Mexico children deserve to have the opportunities in their most formative years that will help them to thrive and succeed in life. Unfortunately too many kids in New Mexico lack access to such opportunities either because their hard-working families cannot afford them or programs are simply not available in their communities. (State-level data on child and family poverty, and child care costs)
Fact Sheet Like most states, New Mexico has a shortage of professionals whose occupations require licensure -- most notably, doctors, dentist, and teachers. We cannot afford to lose talented professionals, but we are because of federal laws that keep educated and trained immigrants from getting the professional licenses required to practice here. New Mexico needs to follow other states that have removed these barriers.
“Given that we have one of the highest child poverty rates in the nation, it’s in the state’s best interest to expand this tax credit to more hard-working families with children,” said James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children. “No child should be deprived of the benefits of this tax credit because of where their parents were born.”
Santa Fe New Mexican--The lawsuit is being brought by a coalition that includes the nonprofit groups Southwest Organizing Project and New Mexico Voices for Children; state Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque; state Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque; state Rep. Andrés Romero, D-Albuquerque; and Albuquerque residents Lucille Cordova, Reynaluz Juarez and Dante Smith.