New tax bracket, fewer deductions for wealthiest people

From The Carlsbad Current Argus - by Carole Feldman, Associated Press - A new top tax rate, higher Medicare taxes and the phaseout of deductions and exemptions could mean higher tax bills for wealthier Americans this year. Legally wed same-sex couples, meanwhile, may find the true meaning of the marriage penalty.
      All taxpayers will have a harder time taking medical deductions.
      In other changes for the 2013 tax year, the alternative minimum tax has been patched — permanently — to prevent more middle-income people from being drawn in, and there's a simpler way to compute the home office deduction.
      Tax rate tables and the standard deduction have been adjusted for inflation, as has the maximum contribution to retirement accounts, including 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts, or IRAs.
      The provisions were set by Congress last January as part of legislation to avert the so-called fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts. “We finally got some certainty for this year,” said Greg Rosica, a contributing author to Ernst & Young's “EY Tax Guide 2014.”
      Nevertheless, the filing season is being delayed because of the two-week partial government shutdown last October. The Internal Revenue Service says it needs the extra time to ensure that systems are in place and working. People will be able to start filing returns Jan. 31, a week and a half later than the original Jan. 21 date.
      “People who are used to filing early in order to get a quick refund are just going to have to wait,” said Barbara Weltman, a contributing editor to the tax guide “J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2014.”
      No change in the April 15 deadline, however. That's set by law and will remain in place, the IRS says. Read more

New tax bracket, fewer deductions for wealthiest people

Study shows large number of NM students need remediation

A new study says more than half of the New Mexico students attending the state's colleges and universities aren't ready academically and that it's costly for the state. 

The student study released by the Legislative Finance Committee says 51 percent of the students needed remedial courses last year and that the cost was $22 million. 

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the study says remediation rates haven't changed in the past seven years. Nearly half of the remedial coursework is in math. Most of the rest was in English and reading.

Study shows large number of NM students need remediation

NM ranks last in child well being for 2nd time

As in 2013 when the Kids Count Report came out, New Mexico was yet again ranked last in terms of child well-being for 2014. 

The report was released Tuesday, a day in which legislators gathered at the Roundhouse for Gov. Susana Martinez’s State of the State Address. Many of them the say state needs to move up in these rankings. 

New Mexico Voices for Children executive director Veronica Garcia says the legislature needs to make the appropriate investments in children. 

Nearly one-third of New Mexico’s children live in poverty, according to the report. Sixty percent live in low-income families. More than a third have parents without secure employment. 

The report was released at the state capitol Tuesday in an effort to get lawmakers’ attention.

NM ranks last in child well being for 2nd time

State SUPCO to review abuse and neglect law

The New Mexico Supreme Court has agreed to review a recent court decision narrowing who must report suspected cases of abuse and neglect. 

State law requires "every person" to contact authorities about suspected abuse and neglect. 

However, the state Court of Appeals ruled last November in an Albuquerque case that the law's wording means the requirement only applies to 10 categories of people, including physicians, teachers and nurses. 

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the Supreme Court granted a request by the state Attorney General's Office for a review of the Court of Appeals ruling. 

Meanwhile, Gov. Susana Martinez has said she wants the Legislature to change the law immediately to clarify the reporting obligation.

State SUPCO to review abuse and neglect law

Sec. of Interior to visit southern NM

Sally Jewell

On Friday, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will join New Mexico Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich in a visit to the Organ Mountains region of south-central New Mexico. 

While there, Jewell will spend time exploring the area and will attend a public meeting hosted by Senators Udall and Heinrich regarding the community’s vision to preserve, protect and enhance some of the public lands located in Doña Ana County.  

At the invitation of the two Senators, Jewell will join Udall and Heinrich, as well as Principal Deputy Director at the Bureau of Land Management Neil Kornze, for a public listening session on the community’s conservation priorities in the area. 

 The community meeting will take place Friday at 3pm at the Ramada Palms Las Cruces.

Sec. of Interior to visit southern NM

Controversial bills up for debate in legislative session

From KOB.com - By: Nikki Ibarra, KOB Eyewitness News 4 - Tuesday kicks off the 30-day legislative session in New Mexico. A number of controversial bills are set to take the state in the coming weeks.
     First, Gov. Susana Martinez will give her State of the State address, where she's expected to talk about her budget proposal for 2014. She wants $6 billion in spending, with about $100 million in new spending for public schools.
Martinez has been vocal in the past about making New Mexico competitive through education reform. Part of the new funding will go toward raising the starting salaries for new teachers from $30,000 to $33,000.
     The governor is also expected to push the state to stop issuing driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants—something she's fought for in the past four sessions.
     Another bill expected to heat up the legislative session is about legalizing recreational marijuana in New Mexico. The bill is modeled after Colorado's new pot law, and anyone 21 and older would be allowed to possess and use marijuana. The lawmaker who proposed the legislation, Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, said he thinks legalizing marijuana will actually help fight to war on drugs. More

Controversial bills up for debate in legislative session

NM ranks near the bottom for economic job growth

An economic study ranks New Mexico as one of the worst in the nation when it comes to economic and job growth.

The report, authored by the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, shows New Mexico ranks 48 among states when it comes to job growth.

According to the report New Mexico had previously been ranked among the top 15 states for job growth over the last 40 years. The report showed New Mexico has the largest gap of any state when it comes to the disparity between its upper and lower class incomes. There’s also a large educational disparity. The report points out the state ranks fourth in the country with the number of people living here with Ph.D.s, but toward the bottom when it comes to people with bachelor’s degrees. 

The report also shows the state relies heavily on federal dollars and its economy could be badly hurt by any cuts to federal spending. It also said the state could benefit from the Affordable Care Act. 

There are some positives. According to the report, New Mexico does well in the areas of technology, arts and culture, mining, gas and oil production, transportation and tourism.

NM ranks near the bottom for economic job growth

Student shot at Roswell school returns home

Kendal Sanders

One of the students wounded when a classmate opened fire inside a Roswell middle school gym is recovering at home. 

The family of 13-year-old Kendal Sanders says she was released from the hospital Sunday. She had surgery last week to repair damage done to her shoulder. 

The other victim, 12-year-old Nathaniel Tavarez, remained at a Lubbock, Texas, hospital Monday. A family member says the boy is in critical but stable condition and is now breathing on his own. 

Sanders and Tavarez were wounded when the gunman entered the crowded Berrendo Middle School gym last Tuesday and fired three times from a 20-gauge shotgun. 

The seventh-grade suspect has been charged as a juvenile with three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Police have yet to speculate about a motive.

Student shot at Roswell school returns home

State legislature convenes today

Gov. Martinez

Gov. Susana Martinez will outline her legislative priorities to lawmakers on the opening day of the Legislature's 30-day session. 

Lawmakers convene at noon today, and the governor will deliver her State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate. 

Martinez already has unveiled parts of her legislative agenda, including merit pay for teachers and budget increases for programs to help train more health care professionals.

 A Democratic legislator is sponsoring a constitutional amendment to legalize the possession and use of marijuana by people 21 and older. 

Democratic Party officials are urging the Legislature to raise the minimum wage to at least $10 an hour, up from $7.50. The session is limited to budget, taxes and proposals placed on the agenda by the governor.

State legislature convenes today

Is This Any Way to Treat the Job Creators?

Commentary by Marita Noon - It’s no wonder that, as the New York Times (NYT) headline declared: “Growth in jobs slows sharply to 3-year low.” Addressing the Labor Department’s disappointing December Jobs Report, CNNMoney’s headline states: “2013 ends with weakest job growth in years.” USA Today called it a “Big miss” and CNBC’sJim Cramer sees the 74,000 gain in payrolls as “A disastrous unemployment number.”
     USA Today surveyed 37 economists whose median forecast for the December jobs number was a gain of 205,000 jobs. Not only did the report’s 74,000 jobs gain fall far short of the 205,000 jobs forecast, it is not the only number that portends a job market about which CNNMoney believes: “suddenly looks a lot weaker than economists had thought.” USA Today points out: “For the year, employers added 2.18 million jobs, slightly fewer than 2012’s total of 2.19 million.” It adds: “Payroll growth was weak across the board, with education and health services, a reliable source of job growth even through the recession, adding no jobs.”
     The one apparent bright spot in Friday’s Jobs report a sharp drop in the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent from 7 percent was tarnished because it largely resulted from people exiting the work force rather than because they landed jobs. The work force shrank by 347,000 in December, reversing a big gain from November, and returning the proportion of Americans in the labor force to its October level of 62.8 percent, the lowest in 35 years.”

     According to the Associated Press (AP), White House senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer sent out an email Tuesday morning to the White House list of supporters claiming: “The president will use every tool he can to create jobs and opportunities for the middle class.” While I oppose this administration’s fondness for skirting Congress through the use of executive orders, here’s a case where an “executive order or administrative action” could really help “pick up the pace of the jobs message.”
     If President Obama truly wanted to “create jobs and opportunities for the middle class,” he could tell the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to work with—instead of against—people and companies who are ready to risk their capital in the development of our natural resources and create jobs.More

Is This Any Way to Treat the Job Creators?