Did Governor Lujan Grisham agree with NMBC’s position that, “It is not okay to increase any tax when the state has a $3.6 billion surplus”? Not completely, but she did hear the pushback and used her line item veto authority to eliminate some of the tax increases that were in HB 547.
Friday of last week was the final day for the governor to sign or veto several bills that remained on her desk after the 60 day session. While some of the line item and outright vetoes were good, the bad news is that she signed another massive budget spending increase, growing the size and scope of state government for the third year in a row!
Also eliminated by her line item veto pen was a gross receipts tax reduction and reduced personal income taxes for many New Mexicans. Why? The governor was concerned that there may not be enough money to pay for all the increased spending. Yet, she did approve increasing the tax credit for the film industry by millions of dollars and set aside $15 million dollars for people in New Mexico who don’t quality for a $500 per person tax rebate (non-citizens).