Posted on 11/03/2009 8:04:11 AM PST by CedarDave
New Mexicans should brace for tax increases in 2010, Gov. Bill Richardson warned Monday. "It's inevitable," Richardson told a news conference in the state Capitol. "It's very painful."
Richardson ruled out tax hikes during a recent special legislative session called to deal with a projected $650 million state deficit for this year. His remarks Monday represented his strongest words to date on the likelihood of increasing taxes during the regular session that begins in January.
Reaction to Richardson's remarks were mixed. Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, agreed with Richardson and said tax loopholes should be closely scrutinized. "We should remember that we're not constitutionally prohibited from raising taxes," said Feldman, who pointed out that tax increases in some other states must be approved by voters. ...
However, Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, said runaway state spending should be examined closely before tax hikes are entertained. "We need to look at a lot of other things before we concede we need to raise taxes," Ingle said.
Although Richardson didn't specify Monday what kind of tax increases might be considered ... taxes on products such as alcohol, tobacco and soft drinks, will probably be among the possibilities.
Among the proposals could be reinstating the personal income tax rates that were scaled back in 2003 and new tax requirements on out-of-state corporations.
Richardson also hinted Monday that he may veto a key section of the budget-cutting bill approved by lawmakers during the special session that ended Oct. 23.
~~snip~~
Some groups have already begun to weigh in on the special session budget cuts, such as a coalition of 24 public employee unions, social advocacy groups and religious organizations called "Better Choices New Mexico" that sent Richardson a letter Friday urging the governor to take up his veto pen.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
PING to the NM list!
It's only fair.
PAINFUL???? To whom??? Tax increases are the easiest and least painful thing government can do to ITSELF. CUT SPENDING.
Inevitable........no stop spending money.
Stop spending is not a concept understood by Liberals, period. First thing, make sure the money going to Mexico from the Mexicans there is taxed. I assume it is not taxed, just flows to Mexico. Anyone know for sure?
Let’s see, when times are tough, and money is scarce, we live on a tight budget and do without extras.......
Hey NM: Ya gets what ya votes for!
The rats never saw a tax they didn’t like.
What's with all this Democrat crooks named dede all of a sudden???
Dede has been around since the 80’s. A big, big greenie who wouldn’t know a real job if she saw one.
Yeah, it is inevitable unless they cut spending to the bone and bite the bullet. One thing that would help is if the states just simply tell the feds to f*** off and refuse to send tax money until government spending is cut, period.
My remark about “all the crook democrats named dede” was a tongue in cheek reference to the dede from NY who refers to herself as a “Republican’ even though she supports democrats to run her district and presumably the country!
Thanks. I knew who you were referencing; just thought I’d give a little background on NM’s Dede.
That should help bring more jobs to NM.
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