Koch-funded group to hold forum on tax cuts, Hispanics

ALBUQUERQUE — A Koch brothers-funded group is hosting a New Mexico forum as part of a national effort aimed at convincing Hispanic voters that the GOP-sponsored tax reforms help them.

The LIBRE Initiative plans a “Tax Reform: More Money In Your Pocket” event Saturday in Albuquerque and is inviting Hispanic business leaders to attend and speak on how they’ve benefited from the tax cuts sign by President Donald Trump last year.

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce of Hobbs, a Republican candidate for New Mexico governor, is slated to join Republican Lt. Gov. John Sanchez.

The conservative-leaning group is organizing similar forums in states like Texas, Arizona and Nevada with large numbers of Latino voters.

LIBRE President Daniel Garza called the tax cuts “a once in a generation” opportunity and expects Republicans to pursue more such reforms. He said such policies would help New Mexico, one of the poorest states and one with the highest percentage of Hispanics.

“Latinos care about a lot of issues, but the economy remains their number one concern,” Garza said. “We, at the LIBRE Initiative, want to have conversations about generating wealth.”

But the Democratic Party of New Mexico called the GOP tax cuts a “sham.”

“It’s not fair that the average person is only seeing a few more bucks in their paycheck, while large corporations and Wall Street CEOs are pocketing millions of dollars,” the Democratic Party of New Mexico said in a statement.