I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Ruidoso Downs racetrack could see its state taxes drop by $2.5 million over several years if legislation filed last week becomes law.
But unlike in recent years, when similar bills were filed, this time around voters in Ruidoso likely will get a say on whether to grant the racetrack a tax break.
Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa, the sponsor of the bill proposing a state tax reduction for the racetrack at Ruidoso Downs, said Monday he wants local voters to have a say in whether to approve the tax decrease.
The change has to do with the state’s perilous financial shape.
“The controversy has been … that it takes a lot of money from the state at a difficult time,” Cisneros said of the proposed reduction in Ruidoso Downs’ state tax liability. New Mexico confronts a yawning budget gap — estimated at several hundred million dollars – for the state budget year that starts July 1.
“We’re shifting the impetus to the local rather than the statewide,” Cisneros said during an early morning Senate committee meeting.
Millionaire businessman R.D. Hubbard owns The Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and has said the racetrack will attempt to move to Las Cruces unless the Legislature agrees to cut the tax the racino pays on its slot machine revenues.
The racetrack has cited competition from nearby tribal casinos as the reason for seeking a reduction in what it pays in state taxes. Ruidoso Downs has tried twice since 2008 to trim its tax rate.
There are questions about whether state law would allow the move.
According to a bill analysis, Cisneros’ legislation would reduce what the racetrack pays to the state nearly $2.5 million over three years — $426 thousand next year, $789 the year after that, and $1.2 million in year after that.
