Fact Sheet New Mexico now has the ninth most progressive tax system in the nation as ranked by ITEP’s recently updated Who Pays? report on tax incidence. That same report showed New Mexico as making the most progress toward tax fairness in the nation! This fact sheet explains why. (State-level data on effective tax rates by income group.)
Fact Sheet In recent years, increases and expansions of income supports have made a big difference for families who are working their way out of poverty. When the value of these programs are taken into account it is clear that families earning low incomes are receiving the supports needed to help lift them out of poverty in New Mexico. (State-level data on poverty and labor force participation rates.)
Santa Fe New Mexican--Nothing is more foundational to one’s well-being than one’s health. Lawmakers can help people be and stay healthy by making strong investments in programs that address health threats and inequities.
Fact Sheet New Mexico gives a big, unnecessary tax break to those with capital gains income. This tax break allows people to deduct 40% of their capital gains income from their state taxes, meaning this unearned income is taxed at a lower rate than the hard-earned wages and tips of ordinary New Mexicans. (State-level data on share of capital gains income by income level)
This tax cut was sold to New Mexicans as the next great job-creator. But, like most trickle-down economic strategies, it failed on a massive scale. It's past time to repeal this ineffective give-away that mostly benefits those at the very top.
Santa Fe Reporter--“One of the big policies that we’re excited about this year is particularly focused on Native American students and helping them to graduate, and that’s related to really making sure there is dedicated funding to support our Native students,” Wildau said. “We’re going to be really supportive of that.”
Santa Fe New Mexican--"All of these common-sense decisions ... not only prevented a significant decline in well-being for New Mexico kids and families, but it also laid a strong foundation for us to continue seeing improvements in many indicators of child well-being in the 2022 data," Wildau said.
NM KIDS COUNT Data Book Child well-being is slowly improving in New Mexico, thanks to investments by our lawmakers. This annual report provides data on numerous child well-being indicators related to economic security, education, health, and family and community, and includes policy solutions. New this year are indicators related to environmental health. (State-, county-, tribal- and school district-level data on child well-being.)
Child well-being in New Mexico appears to be slowly improving. As history has shown us, fighting poverty is a policy choice. This was made clear by the pandemic-era changes in the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC). The CTC expansion led to the largest decrease in national child poverty on record. Not only did child poverty dramatically decline, but the gaps between the poverty rates for children of color and those for white children also narrowed. Not surprisingly, the year after the federal CTC expansion expired, the gaps in poverty by race and ethnicity widened again. Still, child poverty in New Mexico remains lower than it did a decade ago.
NM Political Report--Jordan said Lujan Grisham’s budget asks for a significant increase in Medicaid to increase provider reimbursement rates. He said the state has significantly raised Medicaid reimbursement rates over the last few legislative sessions. He said the industry is very competitive and he said the provider shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic created a “wake-up call.”