The Only Thing Worse

The only thing worse than raising taxes on income during times of a severe recession - bordering on depression - would be raising taxes on taxes. That's right, you read that correctly. There is actually a bill being pushed through this legislative session that proposes raising taxes on taxes:

SB523: Federal Income Deductions as State Income (Tax on Tax) sponsored by Sen. Otiz y Pino. This bill will require individual income taxpayers who itemize deductions on their federal return to add back any state and local taxes included in their itemized deductions in determining taxable income for the state income tax. Basically requiring taxpayers to pay a tax on tax.

Good to see the nice folks up in Santa Fe looking out for us.

Wonders Never Cease to Amaze

The City Different has yielded a conservative blog written by a PhD. Who da' thunk it possible of Santa Fe? Moralia is very well written and worth a read. Especially the following posts:

• Oppose Obama for the right reasons
• Who's to blame for gas prices?
• Deliver us, Lord, from the swing voter

Enjoy.

What's Worse Than Tax Holiday

I wrote not long ago about how ridiculous New Mexico's back to school tax holiday is because there is little rhyme or reason to the exemptions. Well, leave it to Santa Fe City Council to top that absurdity:

The City of Santa Fe, New Mexico, has a budget shortfall of $200,000 that it needs to fill. Every city, county and state faces this dilemma, and there are only two policy options: cut spending or raise taxes. To no one's surprise, the city council has chosen to raise taxes, but people should be surprised at the dreadful choice of tax the council has made. Instead of a tiny hike in a broad-based tax that most people in the city pay, it has chosen to violate every principle of sound fiscal policy by raising taxes on specific "unhealthy" products.

Yeah, that's brilliant.

Bottled Water Initiative

What makes a Mayor decide that one of his priorities should be a crusade against bottled water (subscription)?

Mayor David Coss would like to see Santa Fe residents kick the bottled water habit.

But the mayor doesn't plan on taking the crusade quite as far as some of his national counterparts.

San Francisco's mayor recently banned city employees from buying bottled water when tap water is available, because of environmental concerns. Coss plans on taking smaller steps, at least for now.

"You've got to start, but you've also got to pick your battles," Coss said Friday.

"You've got to be careful saying, 'We're going to ban this.' ''

Maybe he thinks the bottled water is to blame for the recent No Confidence Vote on Mayor Coss' job performance:

City employees who are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3999 expressed no confidence in Mayor David Coss by a 2-to-1 ratio Thursday.

Look closely at the picture below from the New Mexican. Bottle water clearly played an important role in influencing the outcome of the vote.


I know it sounds silly, but remember this is Santa Fe we're talking about.

Governor MIA

So, what was missing from Business Day in Santa Fe?

Well... a Governor who cares about the business community. Governor Richardson is already forgetting that his number one priority - at least as long as he is putting taxpayer money in his pockets - is supposed to be his New Mexican constituents.

A couple hundred business leaders from across the state took the time to go up to Santa Fe, but the Governor was nowhere to be found. Tell me again why we're paying him a salary?

A Smoke Filled Room

I've been known to smoke a cigar. I even have my own humidor, so it probably goes without saying that I've got nothing against people lighting up for a smoke. Yet, this is just a perfect illustration of what's wrong with the legislative need to always pass new laws (subscription):

Come the 2007 legislative session, there will still be a smoke-filled room near the state Capitol.

Santa Fe's anti-smoking ordinance that went into effect over the summer hasn't stopped the Rio Chama Steakhouse— hard by the Roundhouse on Old Santa Fe Trail— from opening an upscale cigar bar where a single cigar costs from $9 to $42.

Kelly Torres, assistant manager of the restaurant, provided a tour of "The Humidor" on Tuesday and said the 3-month-old cigar bar has become a popular place for tourists, locals and government officials to hang out.

"It's been more popular since we are the only place where smoking is permitted," Torres said. "The same faces you would see at our bar are the same faces you would see in The Humidor."

Special interest loopholes aren't just for big business. The smoking bans should have never been passed, and this is a perfect example of why we need less laws instead of more. Consider this example when you read how many new state laws are introduced this upcoming legislative session.