Las Cruces Gross Receipts Revenue Is Sagging

The Las Cruces City Council

The Las Cruces City Council has embraced an anti-business and anti-growth mindset for several years. Its policies are now clearly taking a toll on the economy of New Mexico’s second largest city. The effects of imposing one new regulation and fee after another are now showing up in the Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) revenues flowing into city coffers. Before long the council will be forced by its own policies to either lay off workers or raise taxes. For the month of March 2012 receipts fell by 1.6% versus March of 2011. March receipts represent January’s economic activity. Despite a recovery in both the national and state economies, Las Cruces is now clearly lagging most areas. The year-to-date growth rate for the fiscal year of 2012 gross receipts tax revenue now stands at a negative 0.4%.

The news is even worse for some sectors. Other cities in New Mexico (Albuquerque) have reversed the imposition of new impact fees on the construction industry. Not in Las Cruces. There the City Council has gone full speed ahead with this job killing approach. As a result, gross receipts for the month of January from the construction industry were off by a whopping 12.9%. In fact, the construction sector gross receipt tax revenue alone is now off by over $1 million dollars for the nine months of FY12, versus the same period last year. January retail trade sales also suffered its second consecutive month of decline, losing 3.5% as compared with March 2011. While councilors obsess with frivilous ideas like imposing mandatory recycling, passing dust ordinances in the desert, and spending tens of millions on bike paths, joblessness has remained stubbornly high in the Las Cruces metro area. Living standards in the city are falling.

Las Cruces Gross Receipts Revenue Is Sagging