Higher Taxes — Just What New Mexico Needs?

By itself, New Mexico’s tax on corporate income doesn’t render the state economically uncompetitive. A heavy and complicated overall tax structure, lack of a right-to-work law, extensive welfare architecture, reams of burdensome regulations, alarming dropout rate, and many other factors make the Land of Enchantment an undesirable place to do business.

But it’s important to note that, as the Tax Foundation recently documented, New Mexico’s top marginal corporate tax is higher than each of its five neighbors. The levy is statutorily slated to drop to 6.6 percent for the current year, down from 6.9 percent in 2015. Oklahoma, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona have lower rates — and Texas, of course, has no corporate tax at all.

Enter Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque). The hard-left legislator and “retired educator” has sponsored a bill to delay the “rate reduction to [2017] and all subsequent rate reductions by one year.”

Is hiking taxes during what’s looking more and more like an economic apocalypse for New Mexico a good idea? You make the call.