Tax day is right around the corner, but some low-income New Mexico families will not file a return because they do not owe any income tax or are not getting a refund for taxes that were withheld from their earnings. That can be a big mistake. Many such families may qualify for refundable tax credits. “Refundable” means that working families can file and receive the credit even if they earn too little to pay taxes and/or are not getting a refund for taxes that were withheld from their earnings.

It sounds like something out of a political thriller movie: hastily cobbled together legislation is railroaded through with a vote in the closing minutes of a session. The truncated debate that takes place is woefully uninformed because no one has had time to read the bill. Nor is there time for public input. This scenario did not play out in Hollywood, but in Santa Fe when legislators were given 35 pages worth of amendments to House bill 641 and told to vote on it before the clock struck 12. What they were not given was any meaningful information about the fiscal impact of what they were voting on. In fact, they were misled.

The EITC has been making the lives of workers a little easier for more than 37 years. Yet the IRS estimates that nationwide one in five eligible workers still miss out on the EITC, either because they don’t claim it when filing, or don’t file a tax return. This is money that can make a difference.

You’ve probably heard about the automatic spending cuts to defense programs that will take place unless the U.S. Congress acts before the end of the year. What you’ve heard less about is how New Mexico will also lose more than $41 million in federal funds to state social programs. Education programs will be hardest hit with cuts that will mean fewer teachers, bigger class sizes, and reduced training for the kind of high-tech jobs the state hopes to draw.