Albuquerque council to vote on tax hike for city budget needs

A 0.4875% gross receipts tax increase would have added about 49 cents to a $100 taxable purchase in Albuquerque, and the hit would have shown up in everyday checkout totals and business receipts across the city. If voters approved the measure in November, the combined rate would rise from 7.625% to 8.113%.

The Albuquerque City Council was scheduled to vote on the proposal, ordinance O-26-42, at 5:00 p.m. in the Vincent E. Griego Chambers at the City of Albuquerque Government Center, One Civic Plaza NW. The revived plan came back after a similar measure failed 8-1 on March 16, when the council rejected the earlier version.

The new version would have sent the money into city operations, cost-of-living and pay raises for lower-paid city workers, municipal community enhancement projects and related debt service. The council’s June 15 agenda language described the split as 50% for municipal operations and maintenance and cost-of-living needs, and 50% for community enhancement projects and related debt service, as applicable.

The proposal was projected to raise roughly $113 million to about $130 million a year, depending on the estimate. For households, the increase would have been small on a single receipt but steady over time: about 5 cents on a $10 purchase, about 24 cents on a $50 purchase and about $4.88 on $1,000 in taxable sales. For small businesses, that meant the new rate would have touched every taxable transaction and every dollar of gross receipts.

Council President Klarissa Peña and Councilor Brook Bassan sponsored the revived bill. The earlier March version had been sponsored by Bassan and Joaquín Baca and had the backing of Mayor Tim Keller’s administration. That proposal would have directed revenue to infrastructure projects, reduced city-imposed fees and pay raises for the lowest-paid city employees.

Supporters have argued that Albuquerque’s rate would still remain below many other New Mexico cities, even after the increase. For Bernalillo County residents who already pay local taxes in Albuquerque, the debate centered on whether the city should ask voters for more revenue now to cover operations, worker pay and capital needs, or hold the line and force a tighter budget.