Santa Fe, NM - This morning, Democrats in the House Labor and Economic Development Committee voted to kill House Bill 8, a tax reform package sponsored by Rep. Jason Harper that passed the House unanimously during the regular session in March. After the Democrats voted it down, it was announced that the Legislative Finance Committee believes the reforms to be revenue neutral.

"Not one House member, Democrat or Republican, voted against this package in March, and yet every Democrat voted to kill it today," said Republican Party of New Mexico spokesman Tucker Keene. "Our current gross receipts tax law is antiquated and riddled with loopholes and carve outs built for special interests and industry lobbyists. Rep. Harper recognized how much this hurts our small businesses who can't afford lobbyists and sought to reform this broken system. He worked tirelessly for years to craft a sensible plan with which both Democrats and Republicans can be happy."

After Democrats in the Senate killed the bill in March, Rep. Harper took into account the concerns of some Democrats, and made small changes to the bill to help ensure its successful passage during this special session. Democrats today ignored these changes and rejected the bill on its face. Meanwhile, our economy still begs for reform.

"Our state needs true tax reform to make our economy competitive again, and this bill should not be a divisive issue," said Keene. "Harper has worked to compromise and remove the points of contention so legislators could pass these necessary reforms and get our economy moving, and yet Democrats lacked the political courage to stand up to high-powered lobbyists and special interests to do the right thing for New Mexico."