How Much Does Thornburg Pay In Taxes?

December 1, 2009

9:40 AM

Interesting tidbits keep turning up in the

bankruptcy case, one of the largest in US history.

Court documents show that in October, the company, now known as TMST, had $24 million in the bank (or rather, banks—foremost among them being New Mexico Bank & Trust). That month alone, TMST made a gross profit of $2.2 million from servicing mortgages—and has made

$19.9 million since filing for bankruptcy in May

. After legal fees and "general and administrative" costs, TMST has netted

$816,773

since the bankruptcy. Of course, all that belongs to its creditors.

The case is also shedding light on what kind of tax burden one of Santa Fe's largest private employers faces, or rather, doesn't.

Since filing for bankruptcy,

the company has paid a $107,850 in combined state and federal taxes

—or 13 percent of its net profit in that time. For comparison's sake, check out the

federal income tax brackets

. A married couple making the median income in Santa Fe is going to pay 15 percent. Such a couple is likely to pay property taxes, as well—unlike TMST, which pays no property taxes on its corporate HQ, thanks to a

clever deal

with the city of Santa Fe.

Click on the image below for a breakdown of TMST's tax payments.

Note that TMST, which laid off 130 workers in April and more since, has paid all of $973 in unemployment taxes in the months since its bankruptcy. Two years ago, Gov. Bill Richardson—who has received many thousands in campaign contributions from company founder Garrett Thornburg over the years—signed into law a bill that cut employer unemployment tax payments to the lowest rate allowed by federal law, saving corporations

an estimated $26 million in 2008