The recent document provided by the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department (NMTRD) in response to the Southwest Public Policy Institute’s (SPPI) requests is a glaring example of government overreach, obfuscation, and—frankly—an insult to the intelligence of every New Mexican. The NMTRD and Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration believe that we, the citizens, are too gullible or uninformed to recognize a blatant fabrication when we see one.
Consider this: the report produced by NMTRD includes a registered vehicle in New Mexico with a supposed 1,000-cylinder engine. Yes, you read that correctly—a car with 1,000 cylinders. To put this into perspective, the Guinness Book of World Records lists a 48-cylinder engine as the maximum ever produced. So, what does NMTRD expect us to believe? That some secret, fantastical vehicle is cruising the streets of Santa Fe with an engine that defies all known mechanical design and physics?
This is precisely why SPPI is demanding access to the raw data from the vehicle registration database. We asked for straightforward information to analyze the impacts of electric vehicle mandates, but instead, we were handed a report filled with laughably false data. By concocting such nonsensical information, NMTRD isn’t just refusing to comply with a legitimate public records request; they are mocking government transparency and accountability.
The truth is that NMTRD’s actions reveal a desperate attempt to dodge its obligations under the law. Rather than providing the requested data in good faith, they have chosen to fabricate a document with fictitious figures, hoping that we wouldn’t notice—or worse, that we wouldn’t care. They assume we are either too ignorant or indifferent to challenge their falsehoods. They are wrong.
This is not just bureaucratic incompetence; it’s a deliberate act to obscure the truth and frustrate attempts at public oversight. NMTRD’s refusal to release the raw data only raises further questions about what they are trying to hide. What other misinformation is lurking in their records? What other fabrications are they using to justify policies that disproportionately impact lower-income families while benefiting the wealthy?
SPPI will not stand for this. We are taking this fight to court not just to secure access to the data but also to expose the lengths to which NMTRD will go to keep the public in the dark. If NMTRD thinks it can continue to evade accountability with shoddy, fabricated documents, it clearly underestimates the resolve of the citizens it serves.
The public deserves better than this—better than a government that thinks it can fool us with fake figures and phony reports. We demand honesty, integrity, and transparency. And we will not stop until we get it.