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Saturday, February 07, 2009

Union Attacks Business Lobby

By Andrea Schoellkopf
Journal Staff Writer
          The president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation attacked the statewide business lobby Friday for its testimony against a proposed gross-receipts tax increase that would benefit education.
        "They have no business in the education business," union President Ellen Bernstein told a news conference. "They either need to support the kind of funding education needs ... or they need to be quiet."
        Business lobbyists, among them the Hispano Chamber of Commerce, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Association of Commerce and Industry and the Restaurant Owners Association, have spoken out against increases in gross-receipts taxes, as well as new taxes, to fund education.
        Earlier this week, they testified before the House Taxation and Revenue Committee against HB 341, which would increase the gross-receipts tax by 0.5 percent to fund public education. It also would revise personal income tax rates to increase the top rate from 4.9 percent to 6 percent for distribution to the school fund.
        "We're opposed to the funding bill because it lacks accountability, and therefore we are opposed to any funding mechanism that would be tied to this bill in its present form," said Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.
        The business interests supported the bill in 2008 but were left out of the discussion before this year's Legislature, Cole said.
        "It's very late to bring the business community into this process on such an important bill at a very difficult economic time," she said.
        Cole is meeting next week with Reps. Mimi Stewart and Rick Miera, both Albuquerque Democrats, to discuss the accountability and funding mechanism of the bill.
        The Albuquerque chamber is pushing for education reform before funding is increased. The Hispano chamber, meanwhile, says it first needs an explanation of how the money will be used and what results can be expected.
        "Private business wants to use public money" for bailouts and tax cuts, Bernstein said. "I'm most upset by public lack of support to lobby for programs kids need."
       

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