New study finds New Mexico has worst taxes on new investment in nation

According to the Council on State Taxation and our good friends at Ernst & Young, New Mexico has the highest taxes in the nation on new investments made in that particular state. A link to the release can be found here and the full report can be downloaded in a pdf document here.

As the authors write in their introduction to the study:

This study provides a state-by-state comparison of the tax liabilities that new investments in selected industries or types of economic activities would incur in each state, taking into consideration state and local statutory tax provisions and the financial and economic characteristics of the new investments. The analysis focuses on capital investments in industries that have location choices, such as factories or headquarters, rather than those that are tied to a specific geography, such as retailers or hotels. The estimated tax burdens on selected investments are combined to provide an overall measure of the business tax competitiveness of each state.

In other words, the study explores how much it costs (in terms of taxes) to locate a business in New Mexico. Unfortunately, it looks like the answer is “too much” or “even more than it does in Washington, DC which is not a good thing.

It would seem that our gross receipts tax is a major factor along with our corporate tax rate.