A major tax hike is moving quietly through Albuquerque City Council

Did you know that Albuquerque City Council may soon finalize a 3/8ths cent increase in the City’s gross receipts tax? The proposed “quality of life” tax increase is sponsored by Councilor Joaquín Baca. It could be heard (and adopted) by a simple majority vote of the Council at an upcoming meeting. The City’s current rate is 7.625% which means that if adopted the tax rate would shoot up to 8.0%. 

Notably, the tax hike was passed out of the Council’s Finance & Government Operations Committee on the following “eyebrow raising” vote  which included support from typically more conservative councilors Champine and Bassan. While Councilor Louie Sanchez was excused on this committee vote, this tax hike plan could provide a real understanding of how Councilor Louie Sanchez plans to govern if elected mayor.

As Councilor Dan Lewis recently noted, spending at the City of Albuquerque has nearly doubled to $1.5 billion since Mayor Keller took office eight years ago. There are too many problems to count in the City and raising taxes isn’t going to address any of them. We will keep you posted on the issue if/when the tax hike is scheduled for a final vote.