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New petitions seek tax increases for business, gaming, mining
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CARSON CITY -- Nevadans soon will be bombarded by people outside supermarkets urging them to sign five different petitions calling for increasing business, gaming and mining taxes.
The result might be that voters are so confused they will reject them all if they appear on the November ballot, conservative and liberal political operatives say.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Danny Thompson confirmed Wednesday that he and other education supporters will circulate a petition to increase business taxes.
He declined to say what his petition will do, but a source said Thompson wants voters to approve a business margins tax similar to the 0.8 percent tax on business income that Democrats floated in the Legislature in 2012. The proposal failed.
Conservative Southern Nevada businessman Monte L. Miller confirmed Thursday he and a group of backers will circulate two tax petitions: one that would increase the 6.75 percent gaming tax to 9 percent and the other to increase the 5 percent mining tax to 9 percent.
But he actually plans to circulate four petitions, two calling for the 2013 Legislature to change state law and raise gaming and mining taxes and two others to change the state constitution through public votes in the next two general elections.
Miller declined to explain why he was proposing the petitions.
Thompson, according to multiple sources, will release his petition in time for Democrats to sign it at their Jan. 21 presidential caucus, and Miller will submit his in time for Republicans to sign them at their Feb. 4 presidential caucus.
Andy Barbano, a labor-oriented Northern Nevada columnist who has worked on Democratic campaigns, said Miller is circulating petitions only to confuse voters and cause them to reject the labor petition. He noted a similar strategy was used in Arizona in 1984 when voters killed six separate health care petitions.
"This is a ploy to get a bunch of confusing stuff on the ballot," Barbano said. "This is a thinly veiled attempt to kill what labor is trying to do."
Miller denied that was his motive and said gaming and mining taxes have not been raised in decades and should be raised. He did not want to talk about his petitions but said he would in two weeks.
Gaming lobbyists for the past decade have fought attempts in the Legislature to increase taxes only on their industry, contending a large share of state taxes come from their businesses, while general businesses pay little in taxes.
Robert Uithoven, president of 3 Strategies and a former aide to Gov. Jim Gibbons , agreed with Barbano's analysis that multiple petitions would confuse voters.
"The more you throw to voters, the more frustration sets in and they vote no down the ballot," he said.
He also said having a lot of discussions on higher taxes would hurt the state's efforts to attract new businesses.
"I don't think taxpayers benefit if any of these measures pass," Uithoven said.
Uithoven and Miller serve on the board of Keystone Corp., a pro-business conservative political action group. Keystone is not part of Miller's petition plan, he said.
Miller also serves on the boards of the conservative Nevada Policy Research Institute and Nevada Taxpayers Association. He is the chief executive officer of KeyState Corp. Management and has more than 40 years of investment and business trust management. Miller also is a friend of both Gov. Brian Sandoval and Gibbons.
Thompson called Miller's plans "ludicrous." He said he would have more comments when he has a news conference announcing his petition drive.
Getting petitions on the ballot has become increasingly difficult as opponents typically challenge their language in District Court and the state Supreme Court.
Supporters of petitions to change the constitution need to collect 72,234 valid signatures from voters by June 19. Such petitions would be on the election ballots in November and again in 2014.
They have until Nov. 13 to collect the same number of signatures for petitions to change state law. These petitions must be reviewed by the 2013 Legislature. If legislators reject them, then they go before voters in 2014.
No petition circulated by a citizens group has secured enough signatures to appear on a Nevada ballot since 2006. That year, Thompson's group passed a petition that raised the minimum wage.
Review-Journal writer Laura Myers contributed to this report. Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.
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Vegaslee, you raise a valid point, but that wouldn't happen in Nevada. In order for Wynn to get good people, he's going to have to pay a comparable wage to what they can make by walking down the street (hopefully a fully NV based company that is paying the lowest tax rate). But my idea has less to do with raising revenue than providing economic opportunity; we are losing all those gamblers to Macau that used to come here. Same in other states where casinos now operate. We need to do what we can to make Vegas the gaming Mecca again, or at least get as much as we can from those that have undermined that position (Wynn, Sands, Harrahs, et al). And again, if they are willingly paying 15% or whatever it is in Macau, they don't have a leg to stand on to complain should they have to pay it elsewhere.
PPS... a question for everyone concerning the Bush tax cuts... do you want all of them repealed, across all income levels, or just those that affect those that make more than you? Every income bracket received cuts under the Bush cuts so IHMO every income bracket should also return to where it was if it's repealed. Only when everyone shares in the pain will tax brakets ever reach a high enough level that everyone will say enough is enough.
PS... notice how I say conservative and not republican, let alone proud republican, because I don't know how anyone could be proud of either party. When one of the parties starts doing what is right for the country rather than bleeding it dry to appease their special interests while pointing fingers at the other party I may once again join a party, until then I'll stay registered as an independant.
Proud democrat, I'm a conservative and admit IMHO the Bush tax cuts were a bad decision. For the first time in decades we had a balanced budget and the tax cuts put us back in a deficit, lowering taxes without cutting spending was a bad idea. My question to you and everyone else is can they admit that just because the republicans made huge mistakes does not make it alright for the democrats to make the same or bigger mistakes. Likewise, democrats mistakes should not be used as an excuse to forgive republican similar or worse mistakes. The problem is everyone always blames the other party and no one blames their own party.
Iloveliberals....still waiting for an answer to my question (crickets chirping)...you make it too easy
N7... I will assume your are neither black or native american (or care about those people) based on your love for ol hickory
Proud Liar, Have you ever heard of the Use of Force resolution? Any of these quotes sound familiar?(you'll probably have to play it over and over) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnjcofMFHsA
Revisionism only works on the young and the slow(you).
Shameful Dimocrat- you fail yet again. They were very simple questions. I made sure to match them to your mind and yet you still fail. Why do you lie? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENBdqiMvJ7A
Who tried to reform Freddie and Fannie and who resisted. Have someone help you.
Ol' Hickory was one of our least sucky presidents.
He abolished the "2nd National Bank of the US", the central bank of its era.
Andy was also a big proponent of the spoils system. Wouldn't it be nice if some future, small government Nevada Governor could get rid of all the state bureaucrats (friends of friends), built up over generations, who've been bleeding us dry?!
Andy was a real man of the People. Everybody remembers the party he threw at the White House in honor of his inauguration. The Volunteers really trashed the place. Wouldn't it be nice ...
Unfortunately, Jackson was a Union-Democrat.
Killing thousands and thousands of innocent people is not a talking point....see how the right reduces human life to so little value....bush will be considered one of our worst presidents....(maybe andrew jackson beats him out) ...ask ron paul (a ethical and intelligent man) which country has successfuly implemented a libertarian government