NMSA 1978, § 7-14-3 — Imposition of motor vehicle excise tax

An excise tax, subject to the credit provided by Section 7-14-7.1, is imposed upon
the sale in this state of every vehicle, except as otherwise provided in Section 7-14-7.1
NMSA 1978 and manufactured homes, required under the Motor Vehicle Code [Chapter
66, Articles 1 through 8 NMSA 1978] to be registered in this state. To prevent evasion of
the excise tax imposed by the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Act and the duty to collect it, it
is presumed that the issuance of every original and subsequent certificate of title for
vehicles of a type required to be registered under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle
Code constitutes a sale for tax purposes, unless specifically exempted by the Motor
Vehicle Excise Tax Act or unless there is shown proof satisfactory to the department
that the vehicle for which the certificate of title is sought came into the possession of the
applicant as a voluntary transfer without consideration or as a transfer by operation of
law. The excise tax imposed by this section shall be known as the "motor vehicle excise
tax".