Tax Fairness & Budget Adequacy Publications
A tax rebate that’s long-overdue for an expansion
Fact Sheet The Low Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate (LICTR) was enacted to make our tax system fairer but because it hasn’t been updated in 20 years, it no longer does the job. LICTR was last amended in 1998. Over the last two decades, the rebate has lost much of its value, because a dollar is worth much less today that it was back in 1998. Over the same time period, our tax system has only gotten more regressive – falling even harder on those with the lowest incomes.
New Mexico Should NOT Tax Food
Infographic/Fact Sheet Some legislators have introduced bills that would put the state's sales tax (the gross receipts tax, or GRT) on food purchased at the grocery store. This is a bad idea -- even if it's done as part of an effort to lower the overall GRT rate. With New Mexico's high rates of food insecurity and poverty, a tax on food will hurt even those families who receive SNAP, because these benefits are not intended to meet a family's entire food need. (State-level data on food insecurity, SNAP usage, trade-offs families must make, and an opinion poll on the issue.)
It’s time to repeal the capital gains deduction
Fact Sheet A big tax break enacted in 2003 overwhelming goes to the highest-income earners – the people who are already paying the smallest share of their income in state and local taxes. It costs the state tens of millions of dollars a year and means that unearned income is taxed at a lower rate than money earned from wages. (State-level data on income levels, etc., of those that receive this tax deduction)
Know the Numbers
Fact Sheet New Mexico's annual budget has not kept up with inflation or population growth -- so we're expecting our schools, hospitals, first responders, and more to do what they've always done but with less money. This fact sheet looks at some of the ways the state could raise the revenue it needs to make the necessary investments while making our tax system more fair for hard-working families.
Investing in a Healthier New Mexico
Report The Medicaid expansion, as part of the Affordable Care Act, has been very good for New Mexico. Not only are tens of thousands of New Mexicans able to access health care, the program has brought billions into the state that has created thousands of jobs, economic activity, and tax revenue. (State-level data on the number of jobs created, economic activity, and tax revenue as a result of the expansion)
Winning the race to the bottom
Fact Sheet How did New Mexico get to be last in the nation in child well-being and education? We engaged in 15 years of failed tax policies that prioritized cutting taxes for special interests over investing in our people. This fact sheet looks at what that strategy cost us. (State-level data on the cost of several tax cuts and how lost revenue translated to cuts in spending)
Improving the best anti-poverty measure in New Mexico
Fact Sheet New Mexico's Working Families Tax Credit works with the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, which has been hailed as one of the best anti-poverty, pro-job creation measures Congress has ever enacted. This fact sheet explains why this tax credit works so well and how New Mexico policymakers could make it even more effective. And it could all be paid for by ending an ineffective tax credit. (State-level data on the Working Families Tax Credit)
A Blueprint for a Prosperous State
Policy Brief Prosperity requires investments. You can’t grow a garden without good soil, water, and some hard work. Same with a state - you can’t have prosperity without resources, infrastructure, and a skilled workforce. But New Mexico has tried to cut its way to prosperity and it hasn't worked. This brief offers several recommendations for raising revenue so lawmakers can invest in our state and its people.
The Impacts of Taxing Food & Non-Profits
Presentation Created for a workshop presented at the Community Pantry in Gallup, this presentation looks at the negative impacts of taxing both food and nonprofits, and includes information about how to advocate with legislators on behalf of low-income and food-insecure New Mexicans and the nonprofits that serve them. (State- and county-level data on food insecurity)
2017 Special Session Resources
Resources A budget impasse? A tax overhaul? Veto overrides? Many complex issues will be discussed and resolved in a very short amount of time during the special legislative session beginning May 24, 2017. We've gathered together and posted here numerous resources to help you makes sense of it all. (Various data from child well-being to tax incidence by income, and more.)