State superintendent of insurance vows to collect late taxes
The state superintendent of insurance promised lawmakers Wednesday he will collect every penny of back taxes that insurance companies owe New Mexico.
“I knew we were short; I knew we were gamed by many companies,” said John G. Franchini, the head of the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance.
But Franchini’s comments also raise more questions about why it took so long for his office to act, and, if he knew there were problems with tax collections, why Franchini didn’t ask for help sooner.
An independent audit released last week indicated at least $193 million is owed to the state from five health insurance companies. But the auditing firm hired by State Auditor Tim Keller looked at just 1 in 4 tax reports from the largest health insurance companies going back to 2010. The amount of underpayment to the state might be much higher, Keller said.
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