One month after Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis proposed repealing a four-year old tax hike, two fellow councilors have filed competing legislation that would maintain that tax.
In response, Lewis himself is tweaking his proposal to reduce, but not completely eliminate the tax.
The tax at the heart of this issue is the ⅜ of 1% gross receipts tax increase the city passed and Mayor Keller signed in 2018.
This increase has yielded the city around $50 million annually.
Lewis said at the time he introduced his proposal that the city could financially withstand the tax cut.
In contrast, Councilors Isaac Benton and Pat Davis’ legislation would keep the tax intact, but allocate the money to specific purposes.
60% for public safety and 40% for affordable housing.
Davis said his legislation is not a direct response to Lewis’ January tax cut proposal, but a result of conversations going back to last year.
The competing bills are heading to the council’s Finance and Government Operations Committee on Monday.