The state imposes a governmental gross receipts tax of 5.00% on the receipts of New Mexico state and local governments. The exceptions are the gross receipts of public school districts and entities licensed by the Department of Health that are principally engaged in providing health care. Governmental gross receipts include:
- The sale of tangible personal property, other than water, from facilities open to the general public*; Refuse collection and/or disposal;
- Sewage services;
- The sale of water by a utility owned or operated by a county, municipality or other political subdivision of the state, and
- The renting of parking, docking, or tie-down spaces, or the granting of permission to park vehicles, tie-down aircraft, or dock boats (Section 7-9-3.2 NMSA 1978). The state distributes the governmental gross receipts tax dollars to the Public Project Revolving Fund at the New Mexico Finance Authority the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, and the Department of Cultural Affairs.
*Please note: For governmental gross receipts a “facility open to the general public”; DOES NOT include point-of-sale registers or electronic devices at a bookstore owned or operated by a public post-secondary educational institution. The state does not impose the governmental gross receipts tax when the institution sells textbooks or other course materials to a student enrolled at the institution who displays a valid student identification card.