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.
Photo by Matthew Reichbach
The state budget deal legislative leaders reach may generate $233 million in new revenue, in part by taking back $70-$100 million it has been sending each year to New Mexico cities to help compensate for the lack of a food tax, Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, told The Independent Monday. In return for the lost money, the budget deal would give cities the authority to tax food up to 2 percent, Smith explained Monday.
After New Mexico stopped taxing foods several years ago, the state earmarked money for cities to keep the municipalities from losing tax revenue they used to pay for services. It’s unclear how each city would be affected, but $34 million to $37 million goes to Albuquerque each year, city officials said Monday. The hope is that revenues generated by the new tax would keep the cities from feeling any economic pain from the claw back of money.
The money grab is only one of several revenue-generating ideas that are part of a budget deal leaders from the House and Senate agreed to late last week.
Another idea would raise the state gross receipts tax by a quarter penny, from 5 percent to 5.25 percent, which would raise around $119 million, Smith said. That would mean that a person spending $100 would pay an extra 25 cents in tax.
Bill drafters are also writing up two versions of a cigarette tax hike — one that would raise the rate by 50 cents per pack and another that anticipates a 75-cent tax hike, Smith said. With a 50-cent tax hike, the cigarette tax hike would generate around $24 million, Smith said.
In addition to the revenue-generating ideas, the budget deal agreed to by legislative leaders anticipates $100 million in cuts, with an average 3 percent cut among most state agencies. Using an average means that some agencies would take a bigger hit than others. For example, Taxation and Revenue department would see a 4.2 percent cut from this year’s spending, according to a spreadsheet.
Higher education, meanwhile, would suffer a 3.5 percent cut.
K-12 public education would endure a 1.2 percent cut, Smith said.
But even that figure is based on certain assumptions. The budget deal agreed to requires a 1.74 percent cut from K-12 education, with an assumption that Gov. Bill Richardson would appropriate $15 million in federal stimulus funds under his control toward K-12 education, thereby softening the pain. That allocation would return the cut to a level of 1.2 percent.
