The New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Department has announced a significant streamlining of the state's tax code and improvements to its websites. This initiative, referred to as "fall cleaning," aims to simplify the tax process for New Mexicans and their tax preparers ahead of the upcoming tax season.
House Bill 218, passed during the 2025 regular legislative session, led to the repeal of 81 outdated sections of state law. As a result, the department has removed regulations associated with these sections, totaling 54,397 words. To put this into perspective, this is more than the word count of classic novels such as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s "The Great Gatsby," Douglas Adams’ "Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy," or S.E. Hinton’s "The Outsiders."
Taxation and Revenue Department Secretary Stephanie Schardin Clarke emphasized the importance of simplicity in tax policy: "Simplicity is an important principle of good tax policy. Taxpayers and the department benefit from a tax code that is easy to navigate and comply with."
In addition to updating the tax code, the department has been working on enhancing its digital presence by updating 2,324 webpages related to taxes and motor vehicles. This effort aims to make these websites more user-friendly and ensure compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for digital content by 2026.
The changes in regulations were finalized on Tuesday after a hearing in October. House Bill 218 was sponsored by House Taxation & Revenue Committee Chairman Derrick Lente.
Information from this article can be found here.
