A substantial increase in the amount of liquor excise taxes was proposed during the 2023 New Mexico Legislature, but in the end, there will be no increase in 2023.
The 2023 session’s omnibus tax bill House Bill 547 contained an increase in liquor excise taxes, which was much less than the originally proposed 25 cents per serving that some legislators favored. But late-session negotiations reduced the size of the proposed increase while retaining the liquor statute’s language that bases excise taxes on liters and gallons rather than servings.
The omnibus bill included many provisions that Gov. Lujan Grisham said gave her concern. Among her many line-item vetoes was the provision to increase liquor excise taxes.
Legislators are still pushing, and the issue is expected to be on interim committee agendas.