John Arthur Smith Not Ready to Cut Taxes....Yet

KOB TV - Governor Susana Martinez is calling for tax cuts in her blueprint for the state budget, but key Democrats in the legislature say not so fast. The leading Democratic skeptic right now is Sen. John Arthur Smith of Deming. He is the chairman of the powerful Legislative Finance Committee, which came out with its own budget plan Wednesday - a plan without tax cuts.

John Arthur Smith

The governor responded with her own plan Thursday, proposing $55 million in tax cuts, mainly for small businesses. Martinez armed herself with a report from the Council on State Taxation showing New Mexico with the heaviest business tax burden of all the states.

"We have to get competitive with the surrounding states," Martinez said. "Our gross receipts taxes make us uncompetitive. Pyramiding makes us uncompetitive. A business can go anywhere in the world. We have to make sure they're looking at New Mexico seriously."
Smith said Martinez needs to take a second look at the books.
"It's very popular to say I'm gonna reduce taxes," said Smith. "You'd better be real careful when you're looking at the state revenues and trying to operate government with the cash flows that are needed. You need to be real careful about what you do in that area." Read full story here: News New Mexico

John Arthur Smith Not Ready to Cut Taxes....Yet