Here’s a visual appendix to the story that lawmakers might find useful. SFR made the following color-coded charts using Internal Revenue Service data for the 2007 tax year. The first shows that New Mexico is a solidly working-class state, with only a sliver of the population claiming even moderate wealth.

Approximately 18,500 New Mexicans reported incomes over $200,000, versus 719,200 who reported making less than $50,000.

The next chart shows how much money each of those tax brackets holds. New Mexicans at the bottom of the income pyramid had incomes totaling $12.4 billion. Meanwhile, the 85,000 New Mexicans making more than $100,000 a year—those near the tip of the pyramid—claimed $18 billion in income.

The final charts show where the state and local tax burden fell across those brackets, as figured by reported deductions. Not surprisingly, sales taxes mainly hit the working class (dark blue) and upper-middle class (red and green). Income taxes hit mainly the well-to-do (purple) and wealthiest (light blue).

Above, the light blue represents $361 million in income taxes. The dark blue represents $71 million.

Finally, here, the dark blue represents approximately $25 million in sales taxes. The light blue represents the $5.1 million paid by the wealthiest New Mexicans.