El Rito Media News Services

State Rep. Rod Montoya acknowledged Monday he had no illusions about the likely fate of a measure that would eliminate the personal income tax in New Mexico.

“I don’t believe anyone expected this bill to get serious consideration for this budget this year,” Montoya, R-Farmington, told fellow lawmakers on the House Taxation and Revenue Committee on Monday, referring to House Bill 275.

He and other Republican supporters said their real aim in introducing the bill was simply to initiate a discussion about its merits. They were happy to bring it up for consideration, they said, perhaps setting the stage for a more serious examination in the years ahead.

“We have to start on a different path,” Montoya said, adding the state is simply not doing enough to attract new business or new workers. He cited the state’s anemic population growth, especially compared to many of its neighbors.

“This is a discussion that needs to be had,” he said.

The committee voted to table HB 275, which often means it won’t advance during the session.

Spearheading opposition to the bill was House Speaker Javier Martinez, who also serves on the committee. The Albuquerque Democrat noted different versions of the bill have been filed in the past, and the same arguments that sank the legislation then continue to apply now — mostly that eliminating the personal income tax would leave a significant hole in the state budget without providing for adequate replacement revenue.

“As my kids often tell me, the math doesn’t math,” he said.

Martinez sparred repeatedly with Paul Gessing, the president of the Rio Grande Foundation, an Albuquerque nonprofit organization that promotes limited government and free market economic policies. Gessing appeared before the committee as an expert witness for the bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Elaine Sena Cortez, R-Hobbs,, arguing years of budget surpluses brought about by ballooning oil and gas revenue in New Mexico have created an opportunity for lawmakers to do something bold to promote economic growth.

He and Martinez debated the impact that passage of the measure would have, with Martinez arguing property taxes would skyrocket if the bill passed. Gessing countered by saying significant additional revenue would be generated through the economic expansion he anticipates would accompany adoption of the measure. He also said opportunities abound for cutting the budget, most notably film industry subsidies.

“It just needs some green eye shades,” Gessing said.

Martinez characterized the measure as just another form of discredited trickle-down economics and charged that the bill would serve as a gift for the wealthy.

“To give some dude in Santa Fe who makes a million bucks a huge tax break? I’m not interested in that,” he said.