New Mexico GOP wants Trump tax cuts extended. Democratic congressman wants targeted tax relief

Tax Day is less than a week away, but members of Congress may be much further away from agreement on tax cuts.

President Donald Trump is pushing for the 2017 tax cuts passed during his first term as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to be made permanent. Without an extension, those tax cuts will expire at the end of the year.

Extending the cuts would decrease federal tax revenue by $4.5 trillion through 2034, according to the Tax Foundation.

The Republican-controlled Congress is going through a budget reconciliation process in an attempt to extend the cuts and decrease federal spending, which is likely to mean cuts to Medicare spending. If the tax cuts are not extended, 62% of filers could face a tax increase in 2026.

“The tax cuts truly benefit everybody,” said Leticia Muñoz, executive director of the New Mexico GOP.

The cuts would give more tax relief to the wealthy, both in dollar amount and as a percentage of income, according to an Annenberg Public Policy Center fact check. But, Muñoz thinks, “that’s going to trickle down to the employees of every business. So really, the tax cuts are honestly for everybody, but it greatly benefits the people who are on tighter budgets.”

Democrats have their own ideas about how to reduce Americans’ tax burdens. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., is introducing a trio of tax bills focused on hiring veterans and lowering the tax burden for middle- and low-income earners.

“My bills are a stark difference from what this administration is offering,” Vasquez said. “These bills are meant to provide economic relief to the working class, not the top 1% in this country. And so if we’re serious about lifting up the middle class and keeping our economy strong, our focus needs to remain on those folks who are working hard every day, and that is the middle class in my district and across the country.”

The Boost the Middle Class Act would expand the Earned Income Tax Credit by 10% and require annual adjustments to keep up with inflation, while the Tax Relief from Tariffs and High Costs Act would provide a 10% fully refundable tax credit for people making under $100,000 or married couples making under $200,000. The Honor and Hire Veterans Act would increase the tax credit for businesses that hire veterans, raising the cap and wage credit percentages in the existing Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

The key goal with that bill “is to make sure our veterans are gainfully employed, that they have an opportunity, especially in rural communities, to be able to have gainful employment,” Vasquez said.

He is also worried about the cuts to Internal Revenue Service staff, penning a letter Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“When you reduce the workforce by nearly 7,000 employees, as this administration has already done, you are limiting the ability of New Mexicans to collect their hard-earned tax refunds,” Vasquez told the Journal. “Just recently, just as an example, my office had a veteran who had waited three years for a $10,000 tax refund. Three years, and that’s with the existing workforce.”

Vasquez and Muñoz were both hesitant to weigh in on the conservative movement to eliminate income tax altogether, something Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law for his state in March, without a specific proposal and a breakdown of how it could affect New Mexicans.

“There’s so much that goes into making that type of decision for a state,” Muñoz said. “And not every state is the same. So there are many states that have very high property taxes and no income taxes, and then vice versa.”