NM Senators go “on the record” on indexing Social Security Tax to inflation

In the 2022 legislative session New Mexico dramatically reduced the number of people in the State that pay taxes on their Social Security. This improved upon the previous situation, but according to Money.com, “Only 10 states will still tax benefits: Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia.”

Completely eliminating the Social Security tax would be easy given the State’s $3.5 billion surplus, but with inflation having run rampant since 2022 it is only a matter of time before middle class New Mexico retirees will have to pay the tax.

Sadly, the Senate voted to reject an amendment offered by Sen. Cliff Pirtle (R-Roswell) that would have simply indexed New Mexico’s tax on Social Security to inflation. The following list is the vote on indexing Social Security taxes to inflation which is rated +6 for a Y vote in our Freedom Index (the vote was 20-15). All 15 Senate Republicans voted Yes. 20 Democrats voted “No.” 7 Democrats refused to vote. 

You can watch the floor debate and check the votes for yourself around the 3:50 mark of this video from Feb. 12. Unlike the House, the Senate simply records a roll call vote which we transcribed.