The New Mexico Court of Appeals sided with the city of Santa Fe on Monday in an appeal of a state district judge's decision last year declaring an excise tax on home sales over $1 million unlawful.

The decision paves the way for the city to have a much larger revenue stream for affordable housing initiatives.

First Judicial District Judge Brian Biedschied had ruled against the city in a lawsuit brought by two individual plaintiffs and the Santa Fe Association of Realtors challenging the voter-approved tax's legality under a state law prohibiting municipalities from taxing real property.

The city appealed the decision shortly after, and the Court of Appeals ruled in its favor in a decision released Monday by Judge Megan Duffy.

Approved by more than 70% of voters in the 2023 election, th

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