Bernalillo County, under scrutiny for bad financial management of county tax dollars, is looking to make up for some of its losses on the backs of Bernalillo county residents in unincorporated areas. The irony of the Ordinance, “Taxpayer Protection Act”, is that it would impose a fee for right-of-way use by utility companies, which is nothing more than another tax on utility bills. Current consideration is to charge each utility company (gas, electric, phone, cable, . . . etc) three percent of its gross revenue. That ‘fee’ will then be passed on to utility customers on their utility bills.
Bernalillo County is not allowed to do this by statute, meaning it is illegal. Consideration of the law, however, hasn’t stopped Stebbin, O’Malley, and De La Cruz from moving forward on this initiative. A vote is currently planned for Tuesday, 12/10/13.
County Commissioner Art De La Cruz said in June, “Look, this property is owned by the residents of Bernalillo County and any private entity making a profit off of that should pay to use that land.”
Seriously? Landowners already pay tax on this land, but three Commissioners want to charge utility companies a fee for using it? A little outrageous, don’t you think, that we will have yet another tax on land we own and on which we are already taxed?
Whether you live in the unincorporated area of Bernalillo County or not, the New Mexico Business Coalition urges you to call Commissioners Maggie Hart Stebbin (505) 468-7108, Art De La Cruz, (505) 468-7448, and Debbie O’Malley (505) 468-7027. Tell them they are not above the law and ask them to vote NO on the “Taxpayer Protection Act”.
Or you can show up to the Bernalillo County hearing tomorrow evening, Tuesday, December 10, 5:00 PM, Vincent E. Griego Chambers, One Civic Plaza NW.
Want to Know The Truth About the Keystone XL Pipeline? Join with the NMBC and other probusiness citizens and community leaders for a Keystone XL Pipeline Rally:
When: December 18, 2013, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Where: UNM Science and Technology Park, Rotunda
801 University Blvd. SE (Free Parking at 801 Bradbury Dr. SE)