Tax Fairness and Budget Adequacy
The institution of government is the means by which we do things collectively that we could not do as individuals. One of the main functions of government—written into the Constitution—is to promote the general welfare by collecting revenue that is spent on public structures like schools, roads and bridges, and services like public safety, public health, and much more. How we collect and spend public money says a great deal about our moral objectives. Our tax and budget policies should be fair, responsible, and transparent, address income inequality, and generate sufficient revenues to support programs and services that improve our quality of life. Children and families should be a high priority in federal, state, and local budgets.
Featured Content
Revenue We Can Rely On
In order to build a strong economy, New Mexico must be able to reliably fund the services – like education, health care, and public safety – that our families and businesses rely on. Our over-reliance on revenue from the boom-or-bust oil industry makes that impossible. Here are the top 5 reasons we must change. Updated October 2022.
New Mexico is Putting Families First in Tax Policy
Our state’s policy makers made a number of improvements to the tax code since 2019 that will help low- and middle-income New Mexicans, improve equity, and increase economic opportunity for our working families.
Tax Policy: A Powerful Tool to Advance Racial Equity in New Mexico
While we all contribute to the revenue the state uses to provide education, health care, public safety, and more, some pay a higher price than do others. Sadly, this inequity tends to fall on racial lines. Our state and national tax systems benefit those at the top (who are mostly white) while disadvantaging people of color. This report looks at concrete ways New Mexico can make our tax system more equitable.
Your Go-To Guides on How the State Collects and Spends Money
Our state’s tax system and budget are a reflection of what we value most and an illustration of the kind of communities we wish to create. Who pays taxes and how much, and how we spend and allocate that funding – basically, how we make our values a reality – are 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 Tax System or the executive summary
- Link to the full Guide to New Mexico’s State Budget or the executive summary
Recent Publications
2022 New Mexico KIDS COUNT Data Book
KIDS COUNT Data Book Given the pandemic, child well-being could have taken a great tumble. But, thanks to smart investments at both the state and federal levels, New Mexico's children are not fairing much more poorly and in some cases, have seen slight improvements. 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. (State-, county-, tribal- and school district-level data on child well-being.)
Increasing the state Child Tax Credit will help New Mexico kids thrive
Updated Fact Sheet New Mexico's new state-level CTC is a great start at helping children thrive. Lawmakers should use the legislative session to make a few improvements. (State-level data on how increasing this tax credit would benefit families)
Recent Blog Posts
23 Roundhouse Resolutions for 2023
It's a New Year's resolution bonanza! We've got 23 resolutions for 2023 that we urge lawmakers to consider to improve child well-being in New Mexico.
State must be able to fund future
Santa Fe New Mexican--Because of our over-reliance on a boom-to-bust industry, New Mexico has a structural deficit -- a difference between reliable, recurring revenue and necessary, recurring spending that persists over time.
Recent News Coverage
State must be able to fund future
Santa Fe New Mexican--Because of our over-reliance on a boom-to-bust industry, New Mexico has a structural deficit -- a difference between reliable, recurring revenue and necessary, recurring spending that persists over time.
Voters signal support for more than investments in early childhood
Las Cruces Sun-News--The recent election tells us a great deal about how committed New Mexicans are to our children and their families. New Mexico voters have spoken loud and clear — and they want the highest quality early care and education programs fully supported and available to all.
Current Initiatives
Fiscal Policy Project provides timely and credible analysis of budget, tax and related issues in New Mexico so we may educate lawmakers and advocate for an equitable tax system and responsible spending.
New Mexico Fairness Project is an alliance of nearly 40 small businesses and faith-based, advocacy and labor organizations calling for a balanced approach to the state’s taxation and budget policies.
State Priorities Partnership (SPP) & Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) are two national initiatives in which we take part. SPP is a program of the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities (CBPP) and includes 31 state-level groups nationwide. EARN is a program of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and includes 55 groups from across the nation.
Resources
A Basic Family Budget Calculator is an important tool in determining if a family lives in poverty, because the system currently in place to do that is completely outdated.
Federal poverty guidelines, which dictate whether a family is eligible to receive assistance such as Medicaid and Food Stamps, are tied to a formula that was created in the 1960s. It was based on what the typical family spent on groceries because that was a family’s biggest expense at the time. Today, necessities like housing, childcare and health care take up a far greater share of most family incomes than groceries. Not only do the guidelines not take these changes into account, they do not take into account regional differences in the cost of living.
Because the federal guidelines are so inaccurate, families are generally considered low-income when they earn up to twice (or 200 percent) the poverty level. This makes up for some shortfalls in the guidelines, but they are still nowhere near as accurate as a Basic Family Budget.
Click here to find out the minimum amount families need to earn in order to live at a basic, no-frills level in New Mexico’s cities and counties.