Black Mesa Winery wins SBA award
Until April, Black Mesa Winery in Velarde, boasted a hefty clientele to its tasting room, with visitors coming from Canada, Europe, Asia and across the United States. They shipped wine to 20 states and had a wine club with 400 members.
COVID-19 ground it all to a halt for awhile, but owners Jerry and Lynda Burd shifted gears, doubled their shipping list now to 40 states, hosting virtual events and increasing online sales.
The Burds and Black Mesa Winery were recently honored as the Small Business Administration home-based business of the year, which they earned in 2019 but coronavirus delayed the celebration.
“It is important to recognize our small businesses for their perseverance and their ability to overcome adversity,” said New Mexico
District Director John M. Garcia in a statement. “They are the job creators that continue to fuel our economy and they represent over 30 million small businesses in our country as well as the 157,000 in New Mexico. We know that small businesses are the driving force of American economic stability and are essential to our nation’s economic rebound from the pandemic.”
Operating in a pandemic challenged the winery. “COVID-19 has caused us to work longer hours – no days off just to try to make things happen, make ends meet, and be there for staff and for each other,” said Jerry Burd. “It’s been very difficult, almost impossible for Black Mesa Winery to open up any new retail outlets and COVID19 has hurt Black Mesa Winery’s wholesale business. Instead of focusing on what we couldn’t do we focused on what we could do.”
The Burds were among hundreds of businesses across New Mexico that received federal business grants and loans to help keep their employees paid and bills covered until they can safely reopen fully.
Pay taxes via telephone
New Mexico taxpayers can now make payments to the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department by telephone through a self-service option on the department’s Call Center number.
The new system, available at (866) 285-2996, is available for payments in the following programs: Personal Income Tax, Gross Receipts Tax, Oil and Gas, Combined Fuel Tax, Workman’s Comp Tax and Weight Distance Tax.
The system will accept credit card payments on Visa, Discover, Master Card and American Express. There is a transaction fee of 2.4 percent with a $1.55 minimum.
The department’s payment drop boxes at district offices have been closed until further notice to help employees adhere to COVIDsafe practices.
Payments may also be made online through the department’s
Taxpayer Access Point self-service portal, by mail or in person with a scheduled appointment.
Taxpayers wishing to make a payment in person will need to request an appointment through the Call Center at (866) 285-2996.
Mailing addresses are available on the Contact Us page at tax.newmexico.gov.
Need legal help?
Join the 2020 Taos Telephonic – Virtual Free Legal Fair on Wednesday (Oct. 28) and Thursday (Oct. 29) from 1 to 4 p.m. both days.
Lawyers will be available to help with questions about divorce, custody, child support, kinship/guard
ianship, unemployment, immigration, personal injury, landlord/ tenant, foreclosure, bankruptcy, creditor/debtor, wills, probate, powers of attorney, public benefits and more.
You must register in advance by filling out either the Family Law Registration form or the Civil Law Registration form. Your signature is required. Go to nmcourts.gov/ Eighth-District-Court/taos-telephonic-virtual-free-legal-fair-2020. aspx. Return the form at the help desk, District court clerk’s office or via email to Gino Unzueta San Miguel, program manager, at taodgus@nmcourts.gov.
‘Small businesses are the driving force of American economic stability and are essential to our nation’s economic rebound from the pandemic.’
JOHN M. GARCIA
New Mexico Small Business District Director