Committee extends Small Business Saturday gross‑receipts deduction through 2030

The House Commerce & Economic Development Committee voted unanimously to recommend House Bill 179, which would extend through 2030 the gross‑receipts tax deduction for qualifying Small Business Saturday purchases.

Sponsor Representative (name in transcript) reintroduced the provision described in bill language: purchases with a price less than $500 made at a New Mexico business that employs no more than 10 employees would be deductible on Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) returns for the designated weekend after Thanksgiving.

Supporters told the committee the deduction helps small, local merchants during a major shopping weekend. Debbie Moore, president and CEO of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, called it "another tool in the toolbox for small businesses." Bill Lee, president and CEO of the Gallup‑McKinley County Chamber of Commerce, and Enrique Nel with the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce described the measure as a way to keep more dollars in local communities.

Representative Matthews asked about reporting language removed from the statute and whether businesses were aware of and taking advantage of the deduction. The sponsor said the reporting requirement was removed in a prior year and the deduction is now included in the tax‑expenditure budget under statutory reporting, and supporters said outreach to businesses could be improved.

The committee moved the bill with a do‑pass recommendation on a roll call vote of 10‑0.

Key technical points noted in committee discussion: the deduction has been enacted previously and the current draft extends the expiration date to 2030; the statutory language refers to inclusion of the deduction in the tax‑expenditure budget (section 7‑1‑85/7‑1‑84 cited in the fiscal analysis); and outreach to small businesses to increase utilization was discussed but no new appropriation for outreach was included in the bill text.