The bill amends the New Mexico Tax Administration Act to enhance tax compliance and enforcement measures. Key provisions include raising the threshold for installment agreements available for public inspection from $1,000 to $10,000 and requiring the Taxation and Revenue Department to retain these agreements for a minimum of three years. The bill also increases the minimum interest rate on tax overpayments from $1 to $10 and raises the minimum penalty for failure to pay taxes or file returns from $5 to $15. A new provision exempts taxpayers from interest assessments if their failure to pay is due to a good faith mistake of law. Additionally, penalties for willful tax evasion are significantly increased, with the minimum fine raised from $1,000 to $10,000 and the maximum fine from $10,000 to $50,000.

Further amendments address tax fraud and related offenses, introducing stricter penalties and adjusting thresholds for misdemeanor and felony classifications. The petty misdemeanor threshold for tax fraud is raised from $250 to $500, with new thresholds set at $1,000 and $5,000 for different degrees of felonies. The bill also defines "sales suppression software" and outlines actions constituting tax fraud. Penalties for obstructing tax administration, assaulting department employees, and revealing taxpayer information are increased, with revealing taxpayer information now classified as a fourth-degree felony, carrying fines up to $5,000 and potential imprisonment. The effective dates for the bill's provisions are set for July 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026, for different sections.

Statutes affected:
introduced version: 7-1-21, 7-1-67, 7-1-68, 7-1-69, 7-1-29, 7-1-71.4, 7-1-72, 7-1-73, 7-1-74, 7-1-75, 7-1-76