Advocacy Guide Designed as a companion to A Guide to the New Mexico State Budget, this guide is written for people who are interested in advocating for General Fund monies for operating and programmatic purposes.
Executive Summary The taxes we all pay are how we fund the state’s programs and public services that benefit us collectively. They are how we build our roads, bridges, waterlines, electrical grids, and how we educate our children, advance public health, and uphold our laws. These programs and services form the foundation of our economy, enhance our quality of life, and pay dividends far into the future. (Link to the full Guide to New Mexico's Tax System here)
Tax Guide Explains the state's tax system, which is used to fund the state’s programs and public services that benefit us collectively. Taxes are how we build our roads, bridges, waterlines, electrical grids, and how we educate our children, advance public health, and uphold our laws. These programs and services form the foundation of our economy, enhance our quality of life, and pay dividends far into the future. (Link to the executive summary here.)
Fact Sheet Our state’s policymakers have made several significant improvements to the tax code since 2019 that are helping New Mexicans who earn low and moderate incomes, improving equity, and increasing economic opportunity for our working families.
Executive Summary Our state budget is a reflection of what we value most and an illustration of the kind of communities we wish to create. How we spend and allocate funding – basically, how we make our values a reality – is decided by the lawmakers we elect to represent us in Santa Fe. They create the annual budget that the state uses to provide services that benefit us collectively, like education and health care. (Link to the full Guide to New Mexico's State Budget here)
Budget Guide Explains how the state spends and allocates funding. The state budget is a reflection of what we value most and an illustration of the kind of communities we wish to create. The lawmakers we elect to represent us in Santa Fe create the annual budget that the state uses to provide services that benefit us collectively, like education and health care. (Link to the executive summary here)
Post-session Review Many of the policies enacted during the 2023 legislative session mean big wins for New Mexico's families. This fact sheet lists some of the highlights, along with some policies that were either not passed or were passed and then vetoed.
Fact Sheet Decades of structural racism – in everything from education to voting rights, home ownership, and even drug sentencing laws – have advantaged whites while disadvantaging people of color. This has led to huge gaps in income and wealth, and the state's tax system only makes them worse. (State-level data on income, wealth, and tax incidence by race and ethnicity.)
Fact Sheet Most people agree that low-income households shouldn’t pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the rich. However, the truth is that those with low and middle incomes do pay a higher share of their income in taxes than the rich in New Mexico. This graphic explains why that is. (State-level data on effective tax rate by income level.)
Fact Sheet Profit-minded corporations will happily accept tax breaks, but tax rates aren't a big factor when they consider locating in a new state. Most of what they do consider - a well-educated and skilled workforce, modern infrastructure, good schools, etc., - are the very amenities states support with the tax revenue corporations try not to pay. This fact sheet makes the argument for increasing the taxes corporations pay on the profits earned here. (State-level data on decline of corporate income tax revenue as a share of all tax revenue)