Council Votes Down Proposed Gross Receipts Tax Increase

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — The Albuquerque City Council voted down the Community Enhancement Municipal Gross Receipts Tax Monday night. The ordinance, sponsored by Councilors Baca and Bassan, would have imposed a 0.4875% excise tax on gross receipts for businesses operating in Albuquerque, with revenues dedicated to municipal capital projects and general operational purposes.

Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn put forward three amendments aimed at building accountability and fiscal restraint into the legislation:

• The first restricted revenues designated for general municipal operational purposes exclusively to employee compensation.
• The second specified that 70% of additional revenues would go toward municipal operational purposes and 30% toward capital projects.
• The third reduced the proposed tax rate from 0.4875% to 0.1275%. 

All three amendments passed. Councilor Fiebelkorn voted in favor of the amended bill, which ultimately failed.

Councilor Fiebelkorn said, "I fought to make this tax increase something Burqueños could trust. Our amendments passed, we cut the rate, we tied operational dollars directly to employee compensation, and we set clear spending priorities. That's the kind of accountability residents deserve before we ask anything more of them. I'm disappointed the bill didn't make it across the finish line, because the version we amended was a responsible path forward to support our staff and ensure residents receive the services they deserve. I'll keep pushing for investments in our workforce and infrastructure, but I won't ask Albuquerque to foot the bill without guardrails in place."