This op-ed was first published in the Santa Fe New Mexican
In the swirl of debate at the Roundhouse and other state capitols, one question stands out: how can states put their own communities first in responding to the Trump administration’s 2025 tax and spending bill?
The One Big Beautiful Bill is a disaster for families all over the country and in New Mexico. It cuts essential food and health programs and shifts costs onto states, making it even more critical for New Mexico to protect its revenues not just to support residents most impacted by cuts, but also to sustain the early childhood, education and economic programs state officials have prioritized in recent years.
One easy choice New Mexico lawmakers have made is to chart the state’s own path forward by passing legislation to decouple, or disconnect, from specific federal tax provisions that would have the effect of giving big tax breaks to big business at the expense of working families and rural communities. For several years now, New Mexico has shown — as much as any other state — that smart, progressive revenue policy can strengthen both families and the broader economy.
New Mexico has expanded tax credits for working families, including a landmark child tax credit. The state boasts paid sick leave, a higher minimum wage, and monumental investments in early childhood and education, investments partly paid for by ensuring that the wealthiest people and corporations pay their fair share. The next immediate step is for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to sign Senate Bill 151, passed by the Legislature, which would save over $120 million in essential revenues and put the funds toward high-wage jobs investments, health care and raises for New Mexico teachers and state employees. New Mexico’s tax policy changes are a national model for addressing the affordability crisis by investing in universal child care, expanding access to affordable health care and ensuring families across the state have enough to eat.
But progress like this depends on revenue.
By decoupling from three misguided federal corporate income tax cuts under the One Big Beautiful Bill, plus taking steps to curb unfair corporate tax avoidance, SB 151 would raise and safeguard more than $120 million annually. The bill’s move to crack down on corporations that pretend their profits were earned in tax havens is particularly momentous, as it represents a triumph of genuine principle over powerful special interests — exactly the kind of victory we will need more of to remedy the public’s historically low level of trust in government.
New Mexico is not alone in these efforts. More than a dozen states, red and blue alike, have taken steps to put their states’ needs and priorities over those coming out of Washington, D.C., and more will undoubtedly do so in the weeks ahead. And as the State Revenue Alliance has documented, states that prioritize tax justice and invest — especially in children, housing, small businesses and working families — often are the states that rank highest on measures of a high quality of life and economic opportunity. Is there more work to do? For sure. But the trajectory matters. And the tax bill before the governor continues that trajectory: protecting revenue, strengthening services and reinforcing New Mexico’s position as a leader in putting its own communities first in public policy.
Budgets and tax codes are statements of values and statements of confidence that we can solve problems and build something better. The budget and tax bills passed by the Legislature and on the governor’s desk are testaments to their people-first economic policy records in making investments that improve lives across the state. Both should become law.
