LOCAL NEWS PRINTER TAX CREDIT

SB0150

SENATE BILL 150

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Peter Wirth

AN ACT

RELATING TO TAXATION; CREATING THE LOCAL NEWS PRINTER INCOME
TAX CREDIT AND LOCAL NEWS PRINTER CORPORATE INCOME TAX CREDIT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
A new section of the Income Tax Act is enacted
to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] LOCAL NEWS PRINTER INCOME TAX CREDIT.--

A. For taxable years prior to January 1, 2031, a
taxpayer who is not a dependent of another individual and is
an owner of a local news printer that employs a qualified
employee may claim a credit against the taxpayer's tax
liability imposed pursuant to the Income Tax Act in an amount
provided in Subsection B of this section. The tax credit
provided by this section may be referred to as the "local news
printer income tax credit".

B. The amount of tax credit shall be in an amount
equal to the wages paid to each qualified employee employed by
a local news printer in the taxable year for which the tax
credit is claimed, not to exceed:

(1) ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a
qualified employee working an average of twenty hours or more
per week in the taxable year; and

(2) five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a
qualified employee working an average of less than twenty hours
per week in the taxable year.

C. A taxpayer shall apply for certification of
eligibility for the tax credit from the department on forms and
in the manner prescribed by the department. A taxpayer shall
not be eligible to receive a tax credit for more than one
hundred qualified employees whom the taxpayer employs as a
local news printer and, except as provided in Subsections F and
G of this section, only one tax credit shall be certified for
each qualified employee employed by a local news printer per
taxable year. The total annual aggregate amount of local news
printer income tax credits and local news printer corporate
income tax credits that may be certified in a calendar year
shall not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000). Completed
applications shall be considered in the order received.

D. If the department determines that the taxpayer
meets the requirements of this section, the department shall
issue a dated certificate of eligibility to the taxpayer
providing the amount of tax credit for which the taxpayer is
eligible and the taxable years in which the credit may be
claimed.

E. That portion of tax credit that exceeds a
taxpayer's income tax liability in the taxable year in which
the credit is claimed shall be refunded to the taxpayer.

F. Married individuals filing separate returns for
a taxable year for which they could have filed a joint return
may each claim only one-half of the tax credit that would have
been claimed on a joint return.

G. A taxpayer may be allocated the right to claim
the tax credit in proportion to the taxpayer's ownership
interest if the taxpayer owns an interest in a business entity
that is taxed for federal income tax purposes as a partnership
or limited liability company and the business entity has met
all requirements to be eligible for the credit. The total
credit claimed by all members of the partnership or limited
liability company shall not exceed the allowable credit
pursuant to this section.

H. A taxpayer allowed to claim a tax credit
pursuant to this section shall claim the tax credit in a manner
required by the department.

I. The credit provided by this section shall be
included in the tax expenditure budget pursuant to Section
7-1-84 NMSA 1978, including the total annual aggregate cost of
the credit.

J. As used in this section:

(1) "local news organization" means an entity
that:

(a) provides a print or digital
publication that engages professionals who regularly gather,
prepare, collect, photograph, record, direct the recording of,
produce, write, edit, report or publish news or information
that concerns state or local events or other matters of public
interest for dissemination to the state or a local community
through reporting activities, including conducting interviews,
observing current events or analyzing documents;

(b) pays at least one individual, either
through employment or by contract with the entity, as a
qualified employee;

(c) in the case of print publications,
has published at least one print publication per month over the
previous thirty-six months and holds a valid United States
postal service periodical permit or has at least thirty percent
of its content dedicated to state or local news;

(d) in the case of digital-only
entities, has published at least five originally produced
stories about the state or a local community per week over the
previous thirty-six months and has at least fifty percent of
its digital audience in New Mexico, averaged over a twelve-
month period;

(e) discloses in the entity's print
publication or on the entity's website the entity's beneficial
ownership or, in the case of a not-for-profit entity, the
entity's board of directors;

(f) in the case of an organization that
demonstrates to the department that the organization has been
granted exemption from the federal income tax by the United
States commissioner of internal revenue as organizations
described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
has declared the coverage of state or local news as the stated
mission in the organization's filings with the federal internal
revenue service;

(g) has not received more than ten
percent of the entity's gross receipts for the previous year
from political action committees or other entities described in
Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, or from an
organization that has been granted exemption from the federal
income tax by the United States commissioner of internal
revenue as an organization described in Section 501(c)(4) or
501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code; and

(h) is not a publicly traded entity or
is no more than forty-nine percent owned, directly or
indirectly, by a publicly traded entity or subsidiary;

(2) "local news printer" means an entity that:

(a) provides manufacturing, production
and printing services using a web press designed and optimized
for printing newspapers for a local news organization;

(b) has been engaging in the business of
manufacturing, producing and printing newspapers for at least
five years;

(c) employs at least five qualified
employees; and

(d) is not a publicly traded entity or
is no more than forty-nine percent owned, directly or
indirectly, by a publicly traded entity or subsidiary;

(3) "qualified employee" means a person who:

(a) is paid by a local news printer to
regularly perform duties related to pre-press, press and post-press newspaper production to prepare newspapers for transition
to delivery and distribution personnel;

(b) works at a physical location in New
Mexico; and

(c) works as a qualified employee for
the local news printer for at least twenty-five percent of the
taxable year in which the credit is claimed; and

(4) "wages" means compensation paid by a local
news printer to a qualified employee through the organization's
payroll system, including those wages that the qualified
employee elects to defer or redirect or the qualified
employee's contribution to a 401(k) or cafeteria plan program.
"Wages" does not mean benefits or the organization's share of
payroll taxes, social security or medicare contributions,
federal or state unemployment insurance contributions or
workers' compensation."

SECTION 2.
A new section of the Corporate Income and
Franchise Tax Act is enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] LOCAL NEWS PRINTER CORPORATE INCOME TAX
CREDIT.--

A. For taxable years prior to January 1, 2031, a
taxpayer that is an owner of a local news printer that employs
a qualified employee may claim a credit against the taxpayer's
tax liability imposed pursuant to the Corporate Income and
Franchise Tax Act in an amount provided in Subsection B of this
section. The tax credit provided by this section may be
referred to as the "local news printer corporate income tax
credit".

B. The amount of tax credit shall be in an amount
equal to the wages paid to each qualified employee employed by
a local news printer in the taxable year for which the tax
credit is claimed, not to exceed:

(1) ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for a
qualified employee working an average of twenty hours or more
per week in the taxable year; and

(2) five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a
qualified employee working an average of less than twenty hours
per week in the taxable year.

C. A taxpayer shall apply for certification of
eligibility for the tax credit from the department on forms and
in the manner prescribed by the department. A taxpayer shall
not be eligible to receive a tax credit for more than one
hundred qualified employees whom the taxpayer employs as a
local news printer and only one tax credit shall be certified
for each qualified employee employed by a local news printer
per taxable year. The total annual aggregate amount of local
news printer corporate income tax credits and local news
printer income tax credits that may be certified in a calendar
year shall not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000).
Completed applications shall be considered in the order
received.

D. If the department determines that the taxpayer
meets the requirements of this section, the department shall
issue a dated certificate of eligibility to the taxpayer
providing the amount of tax credit for which the taxpayer is
eligible and the taxable years in which the credit may be
claimed.

E. That portion of tax credit that exceeds a
taxpayer's income tax liability in the taxable year in which
the credit is claimed shall be refunded to the taxpayer.

F. A taxpayer allowed to claim a tax credit
pursuant to this section shall claim the tax credit in a manner
required by the department.

G. The credit provided by this section shall be
included in the tax expenditure budget pursuant to Section
7-1-84 NMSA 1978, including the total annual aggregate cost of
the credit.

H. As used in this section:

(1) "local news organization" means an entity
that:

(a) provides a print or digital
publication that engages professionals who regularly gather,
prepare, collect, photograph, record, direct the recording of,
produce, write, edit, report or publish news or information
that concerns state or local events or other matters of public
interest for dissemination to the state or a local community
through reporting activities, including conducting interviews,
observing current events or analyzing documents;

(b) pays at least one individual, either
through employment or by contract with the entity, as a
qualified employee;

(c) in the case of print publications,
has published at least one print publication per month over the
previous thirty-six months and holds a valid United States
postal service periodical permit or has at least thirty percent
of the entity's content dedicated to state or local news;

(d) in the case of digital-only
entities, has published at least five originally produced
stories about the state or a local community per week over the
previous thirty-six months and has at least fifty percent of
the entity's digital audience in New Mexico, averaged over a
twelve-month period;

(e) discloses in the entity's print
publication or on the entity's website the entity's beneficial
ownership or, in the case of a not-for-profit entity, the
entity's board of directors;

(f) in the case of an organization that
demonstrates to the department that the organization has been
granted exemption from the federal income tax by the United
States commissioner of internal revenue as organizations
described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
has declared the coverage of state or local news as the stated
mission in the organization's filings with the federal internal
revenue service;

(g) has not received more than ten
percent of the entity's gross receipts for the previous year
from political action committees or other entities described in
Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, or from an
organization that has been granted exemption from the federal
income tax by the United States commissioner of internal
revenue as an organization described in Section 501(c)(4) or
501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code; and

(h) is not a publicly traded entity or
is no more than forty-nine percent owned, directly or
indirectly, by a publicly traded entity or subsidiary;

(2) "local news printer" means an entity that:

(a) provides manufacturing, production
and printing services using a web press designed and optimized
for printing newspapers for a local news organization;

(b) has been engaging in the business of
manufacturing, producing and printing newspapers for at least
five years;

(c) employs at least five qualified
employees; and

(d) is not a publicly traded entity or
is no more than forty-nine percent owned, directly or
indirectly, by a publicly traded entity or subsidiary;

(3) "qualified employee" means a person who:

(a) is paid by a local news printer to
regularly perform duties related to pre-press, press and post-press newspaper production to prepare newspapers for transition
to delivery and distribution personnel;

(b) works at a physical location in New
Mexico; and

(c) works as a qualified employee for
the local news printer for at least twenty-five percent of the
taxable year in which the credit is claimed; and

(4) "wages" means compensation paid by a local
news printer to a qualified employee through the organization's
payroll system, including those wages that the qualified
employee elects to defer or redirect or the qualified
employee's contribution to a 401(k) or cafeteria plan program.
"Wages" does not mean benefits or the organization's share of
payroll taxes, social security or medicare contributions,
federal or state unemployment insurance contributions or
workers' compensation."

SECTION 3
. APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of this act
apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

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