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Commentary: End New Mexico's Double-Taxation Of Social Security Benefits

Commentary: The most  grievous betrayal of New Mexicans occurred in 1990 when the New Mexico state legislature passed and the then Governor Garrey Carruthers signed into law obnoxious legislation basically double-taxing  all New Mexico residents 65 or older who receive Social Security. This tax is a form of double taxation, since New Mexicans pay income tax on the money that is deducted from their paychecks for Social Security, and then they are taxed again on the benefits they receive.

Social Security is arguably one of the most important Federal social programs in this state.  More than 225,000  residents each month receive a Social Security check. A quarter of these older New Mexicans rely on Social Security as their only source of income. Yet in 1990, New Mexico and the Governor double-taxed retirees with low incomes to feed the state coffers. 
 
 Only 13 states allow this double taxation of social security. New Mexico has the second worst tax costing the average Social Security recipients hundreds of dollars per year. The state legislature dominated by Senate Finance Chairman John Arthur Smith and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham need to work together to REPEAL this grossly unfair tax.