Guv leaves door open on income surtax — again

Last week Gov. Bill Richardson left the door ajar on the idea of raising the rate on what the state’s highest earners pay in the state’s income tax. He did it again today. “I have serious reservations,” he said during a late-morning news conference in his 4th-floor Capitol office. But he quickly added, “I haven’t drawn a line in the sand. I believe we need targeted spending cuts and $200 million in revenue.” House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe, dropped a bill Wednesday that would add a 1 percent surtax on single individuals earning more than $133,000 annually, starting immediately. The bill also add the surtax to married couples and married individuals filing individual returns. Another tax bill dropped Wednesday would tax goods bought online. Advocates argue that taxing goods bought online is a matter of fairness. Goods purchased at brick-and-mortar businesses are taxed...read more