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The Bureau
of Economic Analysis estimates that New Mexico's
total state product in 2003 was $57 billion. Per
capita personal income in 2003 was $24,995, 48th
in the nation.
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Cattle
and dairy products top the list of major animal
products of New Mexico. Cattle, sheep, and other
livestock graze most of the arable land of the
state throughout the year.
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Limited,
scientifically controlled dryland farming
prospers alongside cattle ranching. Major crops
include hay, nursery stock, pecans, and
chile peppers. Hay and
sorghum top the list of major dryland crops.
Farmers also produce onions, potatoes, and dairy
products. New Mexico specialty crops include
pi�on nuts,
pinto beans, and
chiles.
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The
Carlsbad and Fort Sumner reclamation projects on
the Pecos River and
the nearby Tucumcari project provide adequate
water for limited irrigation in those areas of
the desert and semiarid portions of the state
where scant rainfall evaporates rapidly,
generally leaving insufficient water supplies
for large-scale irrigation. Located upstream of
Las Cruces,
the Elephant
Butte Reservoir provides a major irrigation
source for the extensive farming along the
Rio Grande. Other
irrigation projects use the
Colorado River
basin and the San Juan
River.
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Lumber
mills in
Albuquerque process pinewood, the chief
commercial wood of the rich timber economy of
northern New Mexico.
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Mineral
extraction: New Mexicans derive much of their
income from mineral extraction. Even before
European exploration, Native Americans mined
turquoise for making jewelry. After the Spanish
introduced refined silver alloys they were
incorporated into the Indian jewelry designs.
New Mexico produces uranium
ore, manganese ore,
potash,
salt, perlite,
copper ore,
beryllium, and
tin concentrates.
Natural gas,
petroleum, and
coal are also found in
smaller quantities.
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Industrial output, centered around Albuquerque,
includes electric equipment; petroleum and coal
products; food processing; printing and
publishing; and stone, glass, and clay products.
Defense-related industries include ordnance.
Important high-technology industries include
lasers, data processing, and solar energy.
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Federal
government spending is a major driver of the New
Mexico economy. The federal government spends $2
on New Mexico for every dollar of tax revenue
collected from the state. This rate of return is
higher than any other state in the Union. The
federal government is also a major employer in
New Mexico providing more than a quarter of the
state's jobs. Many of the federal jobs relate to
the military; the state hosts three air force
bases (Kirtland
Air Force Base,
Holloman Air
Force Base, and
Cannon Air
Force Base); a testing range (White
Sands Missile Range); an army proving ground
and maneuver range (Fort Bliss Military
Reservation - McGregor Range);national
observatories; and the technology labs of
Los
Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and
Sandia
National Laboratories (SNL). SNL conducts
electronic and industrial research on Kirtland
AFB, on the southeast side of Albuquerque. These
installations also include the missile and
spacecraft proving grounds at
White Sands.
In addition to the military employers, other
federal agencies such as the
National Park
Service, the
United
States Forest Service, and the
United States Bureau of Land Management are
a big part of the states rural employment base.
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Virgin Galactic,
the first space tourism
company to develop commercial flights into
space, has decided to put its world headquarters
and mission control in
Upham, New Mexico
(25 miles (40 km) south of
Truth or Consequences); Virgin Galactic will
have its inaugural launch of the
VSS Enterprise
spaceship in 2008, and will begin launching
ordinary citizens in early 2009.
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Tourism
provides many service jobs.
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The
private service economy in urban New Mexico,
especially in Albuquerque, has boomed in recent
decades. Since the end of
World War II, the
city has gained an ever-growing number of
retirees, especially among armed forces veterans
and government workers. It is also increasingly
gaining notice as a health conscious community,
and contains many hospitals and a high per
capita number of massage and alternative
therapists. The warm, semiarid climate has
contributed to the exploding population of
Albuquerque, attracting new industries to New
Mexico. By contrast, many heavily Native
American and Hispanic rural communities remain
economically underdeveloped.
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Feature
films have used New Mexico as a location since
The Indian School in 1898. Financial
incentives and construction of facilities (such
as
The Albuquerque Studios) have created
opportunities for locally based crew members
with production reaching an all time high in
2007. As of the end of August 2007, 30 major
projects have been filmed in the state, more
than in any other calendar year in history.
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Film and
television post-production is also growing with
companies such as
Sony Imageworks establishing a permanent
home in the state.
Taxes
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Personal
income tax rates for
New Mexico range from 1.7% to 5.3%, within 4
income brackets.
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New
Mexico does not have a
sales tax. Instead, it has a 5% gross
receipts tax. In almost every case, the business
passes along the tax to the consumer, so that
the gross receipts tax resembles a sales tax.
The combined gross receipts tax rate varies
throughout the state from 5.125% to 7.8125%. The
total rate is a combination of all rates imposed
by the state, counties and municipalities.
Beginning January 1,
2005, New Mexicans no longer
pay taxes on most food purchases; however, there
are exceptions to this program. Also beginning
January 1,
2005, the state eliminated
the tax on certain medical services.
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In
general, taxes are not assessed on
personal property.
Personal household effects, licensed vehicles,
registered aircraft, certain personal property
warehoused in the state and business personal
property that is not depreciated for federal
income tax purposes are exempt from the
property tax.
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Property
tax rates vary substantially and depend on the
type of property and its location. The state
does not assess tax on intangible personal
property. There is no
inheritance tax, but an inheritance may be
reflected in a taxpayer's modified gross income
and taxed that way.
Largest employers
(Not ranked
by size)
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Northern
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Central
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Eastern
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Southwestern
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