Doña Ana County officials are staying mum on how they will respond to the state’s refusal to allow delaying collection of the spaceport tax.
Commissioners voted Wednesday to delay collection of the tax, which was originally scheduled to begin on Jan. 1, until at least July. That was done because, though commissioners in Sierra and Otero counties have said they plan to schedule elections on possible gross receipts tax increases to help fund Spaceport America, neither has done it.
Under state law, unless two governments enact the tax, none of the money can be spent. Some commissioners were concerned about collecting tax money if there’s a possibility it won’t be spent for the purpose for which it was collected.
On Friday, county officials announced that the state won’t allow the delay. The Taxation and Revenue Department said the county had to amend or repeal its ordinance that allowed the April tax election, not simply approve a motion delaying the tax. There’s not time to do that before Jan. 1.
Commissioners met in closed session today to discuss the possibility of taking legal action to delay the tax. The emerged from the meeting without taking any action, and made no public statements. Commission Chairwoman Karen Perez reminded other commissioners to keep their discussion secret.