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EDITORIAL
Mining for taxes
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The 2011 Legislature has already had a session's worth of eyeball-rolling testimony -- and we're only five weeks into it. But most of those moments were rooted in budget hyperbole and partisanship.
Thursday's jaw-dropping testimony from state Department of Taxation Director Dino DiCianno was different. He was matter-of-fact serious when he told the Senate Revenue Committee that for the past two years his staff has been unable to audit the mining industry because no one has expertise in mining tax law, and he had never told Gov. Brian Sandoval about the problem.
It was a stunning admission under any circumstance. Considering revenues are far below what majority Democrats want to spend on state services, and the profitable mining industry's emergence as a top target for tax increases, Mr. DiCianno's statement had lawmakers shaking their heads.
"I am going to have to start taking blood-pressure medicine," Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, said in response to Mr. DiCianno. "We have a huge increase in net proceeds (taxes), and you don't have anyone with the skills set to look at these companies at a time we have an enormous challenge with our (revenue) shortfall."
Few people outside of the far-left agitators at the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada have suggested the mining industry has been cheating the state out of taxes owed. Given the growing appetite to sock it to out-of-state companies benefiting greatly from sky-high gold prices, it would be politically insane for miners to try to short the government. In fact, last year the industry made an advance tax payment to prevent further state spending cuts.
Mr. DiCianno's comment had nothing to do with the practices of one the state's biggest industries. Rather, it was an indictment of the bureaucracy and proof of an immense failure of leadership.
How does a department head allow such a void to exist within his office for two years? How does he not take steps to train existing staff, or notify the governor's office about a critical staffing need?
Moreover, if the net proceeds tax -- the industry-specific levy on the mining industry -- is so complicated nobody at the Department of Taxation can understand it, why don't lawmakers take steps to simplify it?
One positive development from Thursday's drama: Mr. DiCianno retired from his position Friday, less than 24 hours after making headlines statewide.
Gov. Sandoval's office promoted Deputy Taxation Director Chris Nielsen into the position, where he will develop a strategy to resume audits of mining companies, with the help of State Internal Audit Division staff. And Sen. Horsford has requested emergency legislation for a performance audit on the department's revenue collection functions.
Good.
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"people claimed it"? David are you suggesting that "claiming it" meant ownership? Seriously? Did the first man on earth, merely by "claiming it" own the world? How 'bout the second man? Could he "rightfully" "claim" ownership of the world (excluding of course what "rightfully" belonged to the first man by virtue of his "claim"? Did the king of whatever empire, monarchy, kingdom or otherwise have "rightful" ownership of land that he planted his flag in no matter how small that flag was relative to the land that he was "claiming"? You got to do much better than that David.
At some point the land was empty and people claimed it. It does not matter if the people that recently had it stolen from did in fact steal from another group of people. We merely have to right the most recent wrong.
David: The point was that the Indians stole it originally (at least if they had any pretense of ownership that is) and the people who were on their before the Indians stole it (at least if they had any pretense to ownership) and the people who were on the land before them stole it from their predecessors to the land who pretended ownership and so on and so on. I appreciate that you took the first step to acknowledging what I have been saying, now its just a matter of completing the logic train. Choo Choo!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFWFbWuVCd8
Mr Dino DiCianno video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFWFbWuVCd8
How many out there think that the legislature should have known that no field audits of mining companies had been done in the last 3 years??? They should have known if they were paying attention. How many think the Governor should have known regardless of how long he has been in office?? Somebody did not do their due diligence, and I think it was the Governor and Horsford. The department has already stated that thorough desk audits have been done of each of the mining companies each year forever. So exactly how much do you think they got away with? Granted a field audit is better, but a desk audit is not bad. Certain "people" want mining to pay more, and I am one of them, but lets not think we have hit the motherlode in something missed in the audits. The only way we will get more from mining is to increase the percentage we tax them by, or we eliminate the deductions. Anything DIRECTLY related to the mining of the product is deductiable, but not the LOOSELY connected stuff, come on get real. We gain a lot that way. Dicianno and the department have been vilified and called sloppy or lazy or whatever, and that simply is not the case. Dicianno did not make decisions in a vaccuum, so get the idea out of your head that he was the lone wolf here. The Govenors knew or should have known, and that you can take to the bank. Agreed the mines have to pay more, but stop using the tax department as a whipping boy you cowards who are perpitrating this scheme. Come out of hiding and fight like a man.
@Aformer, I was attempting to lessen the strain by avoiding the whole issue of the feds theft of the land to begin with. They stole it, it is up to us to figure out the best way to get it back from the criminals.
"Reid: No mining law reform in 2010
Elko Daily Free Press, 3/11/2010 - ELKO — Congress won’t act on mining law reform this year, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Wednesday, although he would like to see reform agreeable to the mining industry."
http://www.harryreid.com/index.php/news/article/reid_no_mining_law_reform_in_2010/
Nevada position on control of public lands: http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/nevada_position_on_control_of_pu.htm
remember when they raised the taxes on banks cause they were "making so much money"... yeah, that worked. Government always goes after anyone who appears to be "making too much"... then they blow the money on things like the monorail, neonopolis, the museum that no one will go to and 200g a year firefighters. The only way to stop them is to STOP FUNDING THEM. I don't care who the flavor of the month is.. we all end up paying one way or another. Corporations don't pay taxes.. only PEOPLE pay taxes. Period.