New Mexico is among the elite when it comes to taxing services. With 158 different services taxed, New Mexico ties with Washington, not D.C., the state, for second place in taxing services. Only six states tax more than 100 services.

The data, for 2007, is from the Federation of Tax Administrators (www.taxadmin.org). To compile the report, FTA sent states a list of 168 services and asked the tax status. New Mexico misses ten services. Clearly opportunity knocks.

Professional services get special attention in New Mexico. Nine are taxed. West Virginia, Hawaii and Delaware are the other states with taxes on nine service categories. Only two other states tax services.

With state budgets well crunched around the country, more states are considering taxing more services, a Wall Street Journal report said yesterday.

Raising state-level sales tax rates “appears to be running out of steam,” the article said. Not here, though, where the legislature is considering a gross receipts tax hike. Local governments in New Mexico have raised tax rates steadily the few years, as we have noted here.