New Mexico Encourages Veteran Employment

On March 7, 2012, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez signed legislation, which allows taxpayers who are not dependents of another individual and who employ a qualified military veteran in New Mexico to be eligible to take a credit against the taxpayer's tax liability imposed pursuant to the Income Tax Act or the Corporate Income and Franchise Tax Act. The purpose of the veteran employment tax credit is to encourage the full-time employment of qualified military veterans within two years of discharge from the armed forces of the United States. A “qualified military veteran” means an individual who is hired within two years of receipt of an honorable discharge from a branch of the U.S. military, who works at least 40 hours per week during the taxable year for which the veteran employment credit is claimed and who was not previously employed by the taxpayer prior to the individual's deployment.