Is Nevada Going To Increase Taxes Without A Vision?
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
On May 14th the Nevada Vision Stakeholders group met in Las Vegas for what was supposed to be the last meeting of the process that began in January, working to develop a Vision for Nevada’s future. That meeting didn’t turn out too well. The proposed executive summary draft and some other elements of what might have been the plan didn’t fare well with the general public or the Vision Stakeholders group. Supposedly there was going to be another effort with a more comprehensive offering by the consultants from Moody’s who were hired to assist with the Vision and also with the tax proposal which the Nevada Legislative Interim Finance Committee was going to develop.
May turned into June (no word has been given on plans for further action) – June has turned into July (no word has been given on plans for further action). Members of the Vision Stakeholders group (at least the one writing this piece) haven’t heard anything more than anyone else.
The plan coming out of the May 14th meeting included interaction of some type which would have allowed for further development of weak points. This “outside of public viewing” possibility didn’t seem to pass muster very well with Nevada’s Open Meeting Law requirements, although nothing has come from that plan either.
Many have viewed the purpose for the Nevada Vision project as a way of setting the stage for the anticipated run that the majority party leaders in the Nevada Legislature will make at massive expansion of the tax base and likely increases of existing taxes paid by business enterprises. Given the way the process operated and the inability to follow-through with doing the things which were agreed as being the plan for developing the plan…it is very possible that going forward with a Vision is no longer part of the plan. It may be possible that if the pro-tax zealots couldn’t get the type of outcome they wanted from the Vision – taking a different approach to ram and jam tax increases may be their new tactic.
As the legislative leadership and their ardent supporters for tax and spend attempt to portray Nevada’s problems as primarily a tax system which lacks the capacity to generate necessary revenue, the facts of there not being a magic tax which can provide unlimited inflows is becoming more widely known and discussed. Going into an election where voters might actually question the rationale of expanding Nevada government in light of the extremely weakened state economy, the probable approach will be:
Should the Nevada Vision Stakeholders group finish their unfinished work? That’s hard to say. Given the way in which the process has been carried out it is difficult for even someone who’s been directly involved to have any confidence that it all wasn’t a sham. We’ll just have to wait and find out if there will be word at some point of what might be the next possible idea for going forward (and then whether that idea will be carried out or changed again…)
On May 14th the Nevada Vision Stakeholders group met in Las Vegas for what was supposed to be the last meeting of the process that began in January, working to develop a Vision for Nevada’s future. That meeting didn’t turn out too well. The proposed executive summary draft and some other elements of what might have been the plan didn’t fare well with the general public or the Vision Stakeholders group. Supposedly there was going to be another effort with a more comprehensive offering by the consultants from Moody’s who were hired to assist with the Vision and also with the tax proposal which the Nevada Legislative Interim Finance Committee was going to develop.
May turned into June (no word has been given on plans for further action) – June has turned into July (no word has been given on plans for further action). Members of the Vision Stakeholders group (at least the one writing this piece) haven’t heard anything more than anyone else.
The plan coming out of the May 14th meeting included interaction of some type which would have allowed for further development of weak points. This “outside of public viewing” possibility didn’t seem to pass muster very well with Nevada’s Open Meeting Law requirements, although nothing has come from that plan either.
Many have viewed the purpose for the Nevada Vision project as a way of setting the stage for the anticipated run that the majority party leaders in the Nevada Legislature will make at massive expansion of the tax base and likely increases of existing taxes paid by business enterprises. Given the way the process operated and the inability to follow-through with doing the things which were agreed as being the plan for developing the plan…it is very possible that going forward with a Vision is no longer part of the plan. It may be possible that if the pro-tax zealots couldn’t get the type of outcome they wanted from the Vision – taking a different approach to ram and jam tax increases may be their new tactic.
As the legislative leadership and their ardent supporters for tax and spend attempt to portray Nevada’s problems as primarily a tax system which lacks the capacity to generate necessary revenue, the facts of there not being a magic tax which can provide unlimited inflows is becoming more widely known and discussed. Going into an election where voters might actually question the rationale of expanding Nevada government in light of the extremely weakened state economy, the probable approach will be:
- spin the conversation to how serious the state’s budget problems are (we’ve got a crisis!)
- actually lie that there is an intent to increase taxes (although they might hope to play the “just want everybody to pay their fair share” card – pointing at those who are imagined to have the resources, but who are holding out) and then
- when the election is past go into the 2011 Nevada Legislature and increase taxes and spending like it has been done
Should the Nevada Vision Stakeholders group finish their unfinished work? That’s hard to say. Given the way in which the process has been carried out it is difficult for even someone who’s been directly involved to have any confidence that it all wasn’t a sham. We’ll just have to wait and find out if there will be word at some point of what might be the next possible idea for going forward (and then whether that idea will be carried out or changed again…)
Posted by Doug Busselman at 7/2/2010 7:14 AM 
Categories: Nevada Vision Project
Tags: Nevada Budget State Spending Taxes 2010 Election Government
Categories: Nevada Vision Project
Tags: Nevada Budget State Spending Taxes 2010 Election Government
Comments