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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Campos
DATE TYPED 1/31/05
HB 163
SHORT TITLE Tax Credit for Rural High Wage Jobs
SB
ANALYST Taylor
REVENUE
Estimated Revenue
Subsequent
Years Impact
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY05
FY06
Uncertain
Uncertain
($100.0) Recurring
General Fund
Uncertain
Uncertain
$10.0 Recurring Local Governments
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Taxation and Revenue Department
Economic Development Department
SUMMARY
HB 163 amends the high wage tax credit. The definition of an eligible employer is expanded to
include an employer who made more than 50 percent of its sales to persons outside the county in
which the employer is located, provided that that county has a population less than 40 thousand.
Current law (passed in the 2004 legislative session) defines eligible employers as those who
made 50 percent of their sales to persons outside New Mexico. Eligible employers may claim a
“high wage” tax credit equal to 10 percent of the wages paid for economic base jobs that pay
more than $40,000 per year in municipalities with populations greater than 40 thousand and $28
thousand in municipalities with a population less than 40 thousand. The credit may be claimed
for up to four years.
The bill has no effective date, and is presumed effective 90 days after the end of the legislative
session.
pg_0002
House Bill 163 -- Page 2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The Taxation and Revenue Department notes that the legislation passed last year has a delayed
effective date, and thus they have not yet processed any credits under the law. They assume that
the fiscal impact of this bill would be relatively modest because the number of manufacturing
jobs in the affected counties is small and unlikely to grow quickly. The estimated fiscal impact
of $100.0 is simply equal to 5 percent of the cost estimate for the current credit. Local govern-
ments funds are impacted because 1.225 percent of the 5 percent state gross receipts tax rate is
distributed to municipalities, and because 20 percent of compensating tax revenues are distrib-
uted to small cities and counties.
The estimated fiscal impact prepared for this bill may be overly modest. Although, the current
employment base in eligible communities is small, the bill creates an incentive for certain firms
to locate in eligible areas. This is likely to be most important in small counties adjacent to large
counties. For example, a manufacturing firm that supplies a firm located in Bernalillo County
would benefit by locating in Torrance County.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
TRD suggests that a definition of the population measure to be used in determining eligibility be
provide in order to make implementation easier.
TRD provided the 2000 census county population numbers shown here.
BT/lg
Total Population of New Mexico Counties: 2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Summary File
County
2000
Population County
2000
Population
Bernalillo
556,678 McKinley
74,798
Catron
3,543 Mora
5,180
Chaves
61,382 Otero
62,298
Cibola
25,595 Quay
10,155
Colfax
14,189 Rio Arriba
41,190
Curry
45,044 Roosevelt
18,018
De Baca
2,240 Sandoval
89,908
Dona Ana
174,682 San Juan
113,801
Eddy
51,658 San Miguel
30,126
Grant
31,002 Santa Fe
129,292
Guadalupe
4,680 Sierra
13,270
Harding
810 Socorro
18,078
Hidalgo
5,932 Taos
29,979
Lea
55,511 Torrance
16,911
Lincoln
19,411 Union
4,174
Los Alamos
18,343 Valencia
66,152
Luna
25,016 NEW MEXICO
1,819,046