taxation

Business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to access resources and learn more about overcoming the issues and challenges of launching or expanding a business during the Governor’s Conference on Small Business 2013. The annual statewide conference, taking place in Reno for the first time on August 28 at the Grand Sierra Resort, will provide a comprehensive one-stop resource for information on funding, licensing, regulatory compliance and much more.

CARSON CITY — The Assembly Committee on Taxation listened to testimony Thursday on Senate Bill 165, which would issue transferable tax credits to producers who film in Nevada.

The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Aaron Ford, D-Las Vegas, spoke of the benefits that film production would bring to Nevada.

“In order to attract productions that bring revenue to our state that create long-term good jobs, we need to play on a level playing field,” Ford said. “SB 165 is in fact a jobs creation act that specifically targets productions we’re not currently attracting.”

Statewide taxable sales in Nevada for March increased by 5 percent over March 2012 and a 5.4 percent increase for the fiscal year, the state's Department of Taxation reports Tuesday. In Carson City, taxable sales increased by 10.9 percent, largely due to the Nevada Legislative session.

UPDATE: The Nevada Assembly voted along party lines Thursday to allow a public vote on a resolution that would repeal Nevada’s longstanding 5 percent tax cap on mining net proceeds.

Five Assembly members took the opportunity to speak prior to the vote on Senate Joint Resolution 15. Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante Adams and Assemblyman Skip Daly both spoke in favor of the resolution.

As the price of gold hit its lowest level in a month Thursday, the Assembly Committee on Taxation took a vote on a controversial resolution that would remove the state’s long-standing mining tax cap. Senate Joint Resolution 15 made its way through the Legislature during the 2011 session and needs only to pass in the Assembly before June 4 in order to go to a public vote next year.

The 2012 education PISA* rankings indicate that the USA came in at 25th for math, 14th for reading and 17th for science out of 30 countries with only three of those countries spending slightly more money per pupil than America. Yet the mantra for more money, benefits and taxes for education continue just as it has for the last sixty years. If more money will solve the education problem then why hasn't it ever worked in the last sixty years?

CARSON CITY – Nevada taxable sales totaled $3.7 billion in September for a 4.2 percent increase over the same month in 2011, the Department of Taxation reported today.

It was the 27^th consecutive month of increases in the economic indicator as the state Economic Forum prepares on Friday to establish the general fund revenue estimates for the 2013-15 budget.

CARSON CITY – Nevada recorded its 26^th consecutive month of taxable sales increases in August, when consumers spent $3.7 billion on goods and services for a 7.6 percent jump over August 2011, the state Department of Taxation reported today.

The last decrease in statewide taxable sales came in June 2010, when a 0.3 percent decline was reported over June 2009.

Taxable sales grew by 8.1 percent in Clark County and jumped double-digits in Washoe County to 10.5 percent.

CARSON CITY – Statewide taxable sales totaled $3.55 billion in July, a 4.7 percent increase over July 2011 for the 25^th consecutive month of increases, the state Department of Taxation reported today.

Clark County taxable sales were up 5.4 percent, while Washoe County saw a 5.6 percent gain over July 2011.

Ten of Nevada’s seventeen counties recorded an increase in taxable sales for July 2012 compared to July 2011. Eureka, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, and White Pine counties recorded decreases.

CARSON CITY – Nevada recorded two straight years of increases in taxable sales through June, with a statewide gain of 7.9 percent over June 2011, the state Department of Taxation reported today.

Taxable sales totaled $3.9 billion in June compared to $3.6 billion in June 2011. For the 2012 fiscal year, taxable sales rose 7.6 percent over 2011.

Clark County taxable sales were up 8.9 percent in June and Washoe County saw a 3 percent gain.

CARSON CITY – Carson City District Judge James Wilson today ruled a teacher-backed proposal to impose a margin tax in Nevada cannot go forward because it violates a “single-subject” rule for such measures.

CARSON CITY – Carson City District Judge James Wilson heard arguments today but delayed ruling on whether an initiative petition filed by the state teachers association to raise an estimated $800 million a year for education via a new margin tax is too flawed to go forward.

Wilson said after a brief hearing that he will issue a decision “as soon as possible.”

CARSON CITY – Nevada taxable sales jumped by double-digits in May, with consumers purchasing $3.7 billion in goods for a 10.4 percent increase over May 2011, the state Department of Taxation reported today.

Clark County taxable sales were up 10 percent, while Washoe County saw a 4.9 percent gain.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s taxable sales climbed by 5.1 percent in April over April 2011, continuing a 22 consecutive month trend of positive numbers for the important economic indicator, the state Department of Taxation reported this week.

The $3.5 billion in taxable purchases in April were buoyed by double-digit gains in several major categories, including construction; up 16.1 percent, merchant wholesalers-durable goods, up 10.2 percent; and motor vehicle and parts dealers, up 10.5 percent.

Carson City's taxable sales slumped in April, down 11.5 percent over prior year, according to the latest report from the Nevada Department of Taxation.

The city is still up 1.6 for sales year to date compared with last year.

Taxable sales statewide rose 5.1 percent in April compared to prior year.

See full stats below:

CARSON CITY – The Committee to Protect Nevada Jobs filed a lawsuit today against the “Education Initiative” (margin tax Initiative) charging that that the petition’s description of effect is deceptive and incomplete and that it violates the single-subject rule.

The complaint was filed in Carson City District Court.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Taxpayer’s Association has identified several concerns with an initiative petition to impose a margin tax on Nevada businesses filed by the state teachers union, including the title.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s taxable sales jumped 7.2 percent in March over March 2011, but the state’s two largest urban counties showed more sluggish growth, the state Department of Taxation reported today.

Taxable sales totaled $3.9 billion in March, driven by Nevada’s rural counties where large energy and mining projects helped boost the numbers overall. For the fiscal year to date, statewide taxable sales are up 7.5 percent.

CARSON CITY – Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., said today he agrees with his congressional colleague in opposing federal legislation requiring online merchants to levy sales taxes on purchases.

Heck, interviewed on the Face To Face television program, said he agrees with U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., in opposing such legislation in Congress.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s Tax Department could enhance its audit efforts by adhering to its own risk assessment formula for determining which businesses to review for compliance, an audit released today said.

The audit of the agency by the state Division of Internal Audits found that it does not follow its risk assessment results when determining which businesses to analyze for potential tax collections.

CARSON CITY – A consultant hired by the cities of Henderson and Las Vegas to analyze the process used to distribute taxes to the counties and cities told lawmakers today the formula now used to make the allocations has weaknesses.

CARSON CITY – A broader measure of Nevada’s unemployment picture, including those who have given up looking for work, showed slight but continued improvement through the first quarter of 2012, a federal report released today shows.

The rate in Nevada dropped from 22.7 percent in the four quarters through Dec. 31, 2011, to 22.3 percent through March 31, according to the quarterly report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

CARSON CITY – Nevada consumers purchased $3.2 billion worth of taxable goods in February, a 10.2 percent increase over February 2011 and the 20^th consecutive month of increases, the state Department of Taxation reported today.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval announced today that the state has reached an agreement with on-line retailing giant Amazon to begin collecting Nevada sales tax on purchases.

CARSON CITY – A Carson City District judge today rejected an initiative petition proposing to create a new and higher rate of taxation for Nevada’s largest casinos, finding that the 200 word description of effect of the measure was misleading.

In rejecting the petition, Judge James Todd Russell said he did not believe he had the authority to rewrite the description himself.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s taxable sales climbed 4.8 percent in January to $3.15 billion, with increases in all major consumer categories except construction, the state Department of Taxation reported today.

It was the 19^th month of taxable sales increases in Nevada and brought the increase for the fiscal year 2012 to date to 7.2 percent. Taxable sales increased by 6.1 percent in Washoe County and 3.5 percent in Clark County in January.

A report released today by the Nevada Department of Taxation shows that statewide taxable sales in January rose 4.8 percent compared to the prior year.

Statewide, taxable sales are up 7.2 percent for the fiscal year.

In Carson City, sales rose 4.1 percent in January, putting the city ahead by 3.2 percent for the fiscal year.

Washoe County saw a 6.1 percent increase in January, Lyon County a 5.5 percent rise, and Storey County a 25.8 percent increase over prior year. Taxable sales in Douglas County dropped 3.1 percent, one of only two counties in the state that saw a decline.

CARSON CITY – The Legislative Commission has scheduled a meeting Thursday to consider the question of whether Laughlin residents should get the chance to vote on incorporating their community.

A number of Laughlin residents have asked the commission to support allowing a vote to go forward on the question in June.

The Nevada State Demographer’s Office, located at the University of Nevada, Reno College of Business, has released its 2011 population estimates. The state gained an estimated 17,152 people from July 2010 to July 2011, an estimated increase of 0.6 percent, about equivalent to the increase of 0.7 percent the prior year. Two years ago, the state lost 27,677 people, a decrease of about 1.0 percent.

CARSON CITY – Nevada state Sen. John Lee, D-North Las Vegas, has added his voice to the chorus asking the Legislative Commission to take up the issue of whether the residents of Laughlin should have a chance to vote on incorporation.

In his letter sent to the Legislative Commission this week, Lee also said he supports the right of Laughlin residents to vote on the question in June.