Now that Democrats — who have made a career out of demanding soak-the-rich taxes in order to redistribute it to the poor — are in control of the U.S. House of Representatives, one of their first priorities will be to provide a tax break for the rich — in certain Democrat-controlled states. According to Forbes magazine and others, a top priority will be a repeal of the … [Read more...]
PERS Reform Needed to Curb Ever Higher Costs
The PERS cost creep continues. Earlier this month the board of directors of the Nevada Public Employees’ Retirement System authorized an increase in the amount state and local public employees and their employers — read: taxpayers — must contribute to cover pension costs. That means, starting next July 1, for regular PERS members — teachers and other government workers — … [Read more...]
Coming Legislature Likely to Favor Tax Hikes
"No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session,” is often attributed to Mark Twain. Though the quote is most likely apocryphal, its veracity is likely to be affirmed when Nevada’s newly elected lawmakers gather in early 2019 in Carson City. The voters, primarily in the urban counties of Clark and Washoe, have loaded up the Legislature with … [Read more...]
Local government unions create huge pay gap
It is good to be a public servant in Nevada, downright lucrative in fact. The folks at the Nevada Policy Research Institute have crunched the Census data for 2017 and found the median earnings for local government workers in Nevada were 46 percent higher than for those in the private sector — $58,644 for local government workers per year, compared to $40,259 in the private … [Read more...]
Marsy’s Law Too Vague and Too Costly
Question 1 on the November ballot — dubbed Marsy’s Law — would amend the Nevada Constitution by removing existing provisions requiring lawmakers to provide statutory rights for crime victims and replacing that with a so-called “Victims’ Bill of Rights.” The first problem with this is that the U.S. Constitution says that no one shall be “deprived of life, liberty or property … [Read more...]
Pink Tax Repeal Would Shift Tax Burden
Question 2 on the November ballot — the so-called pink tax repeal — would eliminate the state and local sales taxes on feminine hygiene products such as tampons and sanitary napkins. Nevada does not apply sales taxes to such necessities as food and medicine, so this sounds reasonable on its face. But according to the Nevada Secretary of State, the state demographer notes … [Read more...]
Time to Let Free Market Work for Electricity
The Energy Choice Initiative — Question 3 on the November ballot — would amend the Nevada Constitution to require lawmakers by July 1, 2023, to “establish an open, competitive retail electric market, to ensure that protections are established that entitle customers to safe, reliable, and competitively priced electricity …” This would include provisions to reduce costs to … [Read more...]
No Need for Further Sales Tax Exemptions
Question 4 on the November ballot proposes to amend the Nevada Constitution to require lawmakers to pass a law exempting certain durable medical equipment — such as oxygen tanks, wheelchairs and ventilators — from the state sales tax. Who doesn’t want to lighten the financial burden on the infirm? The problem is that the sales tax was designed to be a broad and fair tax … [Read more...]