WE DON'T HAVE SALES TAX ! [ Fri Apr 3 2009 10:30 PM ]

Why are we paying sales tax in New Mexico, when we DON'T have sales tax? I would like more people to understand what Gross Receipts Tax IS! The law states, that it is a tax for the privilege of doing business in New Mexico. AND, it is the responsibility of the BUSINESS OWNER to pay the tax, and NOT THE CONSUMER! If a business owner makes $10,000 for the month, he pays a percentage of that amount, (Gross Receipts) to the state as a tax for doing business in this state. Now,,,,,WHY would he charge you,the consumer, a tax on top of that? He THEN has to send the state YOUR tax, PLUS the tax he owes on the $10,000 he made! ANY business owner KNOWS full well, that if you refuse to pay the tax he adds on to your bill, there's nothing he can do to make you pay it, because we DON'T have sales tax in New Mexico, and the tax is his responsibility!!! What I'd like to know, is how can we get someone to work on this, to make the public aware of the fact that they DON'T HAVE TO PAY the sales tax? We need to have some kind of a "NO SALES TAX" card for the public to carry, to show to businesses, with the law printed right on it. NOTHING YOU BUY HAS TO HAVE SALES TAX ADDED TO IT! How much would we all save by not having to pay this tax? AND,,,,,WHY is what we've paid, not deductable??? Let's get this going. Help me if you can, please. We're wasting our money! Thanks for reading.

How much would we all save by not having to pay this tax?

If by "not having to pay" you mean repeal NMGRT, then: a few percent (until the legislature enacted a new tax somewhere else to make up for their budget shortfall).

If by "not having to pay" you mean NMGRT is not itemized on your receipt, and is instead just secretly included in the price, then: zero.

Personally, I like when taxes are very explicit and itemized in-your-face. That's what keeps us conscious of them.

that the tax code states that it's the responsibility of the business owner, and NOT the public, to pay the tax. It's so sad, that most don't understand what I'm talking about. Yes, they COULD change the wording, and I would be fine with that, and they SHOULD. BUT, THE WORDING, IS WHAT TELLS ME THAT I DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE TAX!

We are ALL paying double tax. They are charging us, what we're NOT liable for! When a business totals their monthly income, minus the tax they have charged us, THAT'S what they owe the Gross Reciepts Tax on! NOW,,,, what do they do with the tax we have paid them? They have to send THAT in, TOO! We are paying what we don't owe. Can anyone else see that?

AND,,,,,WHY is what we've paid, not deductable??? Let's get this going.

If you itemize instead of taking the standard deduction, you can deduct the greater of the sales tax you paid or state income tax.

You can either deduct the sales tax you paid on all the items you bought throughout the year (even on the cup of joe you occasionally purchase if you keep the receipt) or the tax you paid to the state for working. I don't make up the rules. That's just how it is. You were asking why the sales tax you've paid is not deductible. I'm letting you know that it can be if you spent more in sales tax than what you've paid in state income tax. Look at Schedule A of the tax return if you don't believe me.

The money you earn gets taxed, then gets taxed again when you spend it, then gets taxed again at the place you spent it as someone else's income, then gets taxed again as they spend it. That's a lot of money for the government.

But if you consider that the government puts that money back into the economic system by creating jobs, funding the upkeep of our cities, and donating to causes like finding a cure for cancer that benefits the whole of society, what's paying a little sales tax going to hurt?