Tax Policy Office
The Tax Policy Office helps the Governor, legislators, legislative committees, local and tribal governments, industries, public interest groups and taxpayers understand the New Mexico tax system and any proposed changes to it. The Office supports this effort by producing numerous annual publications on tax program guidance, tax statutes, rules and regulations, and tax research. The Office develops, analyzes and presents tax proposals for the Department, the Governor and the Legislature.
The Tax Policy Office consists of three areas: the Tax Information and Policy Office; the Tax Analysis, Research and Statistics Office; and the local Government Liaison.
Mark Chaiken
Director of Tax Policy
Mark has over twenty-five years of legal experience, more than fifteen of which have been spent in taxation and public finance. He has a B.A. from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, his J.D. is from Rutgers School of Law, Newark, and he has an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law.
The Tax Policy office is responsible for resolving policy issues, supplying information, including bulletins and FYI publications, about the various tax programs to taxpayers, legislators, and government agencies, drafting regulations, responding to requests for tax rulings, and performing economic analysis of existing and proposed legislation.
As Tax Policy Director, Mark’s emphasis is on updating and streamlining tax regulations, ensuring consistency in interpretation of tax law, and providing clear and prompt advice to taxpayers in a complex and fast-changing state tax environment.
Tax Information and Policy Office
The Tax Information and Policy Office provides information and guidance on New Mexico taxes through publications (bulletins, brochures, FYI’s and forms), regulations and responses to ruling requests and general inquiries. To contact the Tax Information and Policy Office you can email policy.office@tax.nm.gov.
The office maintains 349 publications on tax-reporting rules, processes, and incentives. Forms and publications can be located on the Department’s website here:
During legislative sessions, the Office reviews all introduced bills, assigns those dealing with taxation or motor vehicles for further review throughout the Department and disseminates Fiscal Impact Reports. After legislative sessions, the Office assists with the implementation of new legislation.
The Office also manages the process for creating regulations and handles all ruling requests. For more information on how to request a ruling, please see:
Tax Analysis, Research and Statistics Office
Chief Economist Lucinda Sydow can be contacted by email at Lucinda.Sydow2@tax.nm.gov.
The Tax Analysis, Research and Statistics Office consists of a team of economists providing fiscal and policy analyses and statistics about the New Mexico tax system. The office develops data sets, models, methods, and research to support sound tax policy and forecasting. Annual publications include the Tax Expenditure Report, which along with additional publicly available information are posted on the Department’s website here:
Forms Publications
The economists are members of the consensus revenue estimating group (CREG), which forecasts state general fund revenues. The revenue forecast is a critical element of the process of proposing and enacting the state budget each year.
During legislative sessions, the Office also prepares a Fiscal Impact Report on each bill that affects revenues administered by TRD.
Much of the data used by these economists are subject to confidentiality laws (IRS Publication 1075; USC Title 26, IRC 6103; NMSA 7-1-8 et.al.). In accordance with NMSA 7-1-8.3, information that may be revealed to the public is posted on the Department’s website at the following locations:
Oil and Gas Severance Reporting
Requests for information for the purpose of tax research may be made to Tax.Research@tax.nm.gov
The Department will make every effort to fulfill information requests, if not otherwise prohibited by law.
Local Government Liaison
Local Government Liaison David Monteith can be reached by email at:
tax.localgov@tax.nm.gov
The local government liaison works closely with local and tribal governments to implement new tax rates and agreements with the Department.