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Guv will propose temporary tax hike
Gov. Bill Richardson (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Gov. Bill Richardson is set to unveil his proposal to balance the state budget on Tuesday, and he says he will support a temporary tax increase as part of the fix, The Associated Press is reporting.
“My budget recommendations will include new revenue as a temporary measure to shore up the budget during this historic global recession,” Richardson said in a statement given to the AP. “But I will only support a package that automatically expires after the economy recovers and we no longer need this temporary infusion of revenue.”
The governor isn’t going to specify on Tuesday what tax should be increased, the article states. He will instead negotiate that with the Legislature.
The governor’s recommendation will include another $300 million in cuts on top of the more than $200 million cut last year by the Legislature and through an executive order issued by Richardson.
The legislative session starts Jan. 19.
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Wonder why he says no on income? Seems to me that a higher tax and closing any loopholes on the people making over $250,000 is a good idea. A tax on food will only hurt the people who can least afford it. There are many ways to fix this problem. One would have been to pass the Health Security bill that has been studied by two think tanks and would have saved hundreds ot thousands of dollars while providing health care access for all New Mexicans. You should just hear the health insurance lobbyists, Pres. and Lovelace CEO’s and lobbyists wailing when this is proposed in our beloved state legislature.
Now that the Governor and his administration have driven us deep into debt by ‘pork barrel’ projects and can’t find a way to balance the budget, he is going to suggest a temporary tax increase to further burden the people of this state. Richardson can say that it is a temporary tax or call it anything he wants to, but the realism is that we will be stuck with it for the rest of our natural lives.
The question is when has anyone ever in the history of any state or in this country seen a temporary tax that was just that. When taxes are levied, they become permanent, simply because the government of the U S and/or the state does not want to turn loose of the money they are getting. This has been the way of the taxation programs in this country since the civil war.