Roswell Back-Taxes Deal Raids Common Sense

Editorial Piece , Albuquerque Journal

 

April 21, 2008

If you knew a local business was the target of an immigration raid in 2006, that
one of its principals was indicted in 2007, that it was 11 months and almost
$60,000 behind in loan payments to a city economic development program,
chances are you wouldn’t bend over backward to give it a tax break.

Rep. Dan Foley, R-Roswell, knew about the federal indictment alleging Dean
Baldwin Painting employed illegal immigrants that executive vice president Carl
Dean Baldwin transported, harbored, aided and abetted. He correctly points out
that Baldwin, who has pleaded innocent to 10 felony counts, is innocent until
proven guilty. He also says the plan to give Dean Baldwin Painting almost five
years to make good on $522,591 in back taxes, interest and penalties was vital to
protecting the Roswell company’s 155-plus jobs.

But, the federal government says that since 2002, many of those jobs have
been filled with immigrants who were underdocumented and at least some of
them underpaid while they painted government planes to fulfill at least $13.7
million in U.S. military contracts that dictated higher-than-average wages.

Gov. Bill Richardson’s Office says he didn’t know about the indictment when
Foley came to him for help and they worked out the tax reprieve. Foley, the
House minority whip, says he didn’t bring the indictment up when he pitched the
idea to Richardson, but added, “I don’t know how you couldn’t be aware of it; it
was state news.”

Foley should also have been aware that the feds believe his neighbor “stood to
gain a greater profit by paying as little as possible to (the illegal immigrants). It is
on the shoulders and backs of these painters that Baldwin Painting advanced its
profit margin.”

Should the company that has gotten a plane-load of incentives, breaks, loans
and interest rate drops from the state and the city of Roswell over the years get
relief on back taxes without thorough state scrutiny? The city of Midland, Texas,
backed away from a $23 million incentive for an expansion of the company’s
operations there. That seems prudent. The Air Force has suspended Dean
Baldwin Painting from its contractor list, at least until the federal case is resolved.
That seems prudent.

But for the state to bend over backward to extend the company’s credit for
five years? That’s foolhardy.