taxation

CARSON CITY – A regulation requiring thousands of home-based businesses to pay a $200 annual fee won approval today from a legislative panel.

Secretary of State Ross Miller has been trying to get the regulation approved for several months, but has seen the regulation stymied by strong opposition from some Nevada residents and Republican lawmakers who argued the regulation exceeded his authority.

CARSON CITY – Three Republican state senators, all members of the Legislative Commission, have asked Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, to call a meeting of the panel as soon as possible to vote on the feasibility of the incorporation of Laughlin.

CARSON CITY – A conservative Nevada think tank today published a guide for policymakers and the public on issues ranging from the state spending to public education to tax policy.

The 88-page sourcebook, called “Solutions 2013” is a compilation of research and policy recommendations from the Nevada Policy Research Institute addressing 39 different subject areas.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Mining Association has filed a court challenge to the initiative petition filed by Nevadans United for Fair Mining Taxes that could lead to a tax increase on the industry from 5 percent to 9 percent.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee today approved a request from the Department of Taxation for $260,000 to hire a team of auditors to track cigarette sales to protect a $40 million a year payment to Nevada from the nation’s major tobacco companies.

RENO – Gov. Brian Sandoval said today his plan to repeal 654 unnecessary regulations will assist in the state’s efforts at economic diversification and job creation by making Nevada more business friendly.

In addition to the repeal of more than 600 rules, another 1,100 will be updated as a result of an executive order he issued in January 2011 imposing a one-year freeze and calling for his cabinet to thoroughly review the entire regulatory framework of the state. The review was finalized last week.

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s taxable sales rose 9.6 percent in November over the same month a year ago, driven in large part by car sales and improved business at bars and restaurants, the state Department of Taxation reported today. Taxable sales totaled nearly $3.4 billion for the month.

For the fiscal year that began July 1, 2011, taxable sales are up 8.5 percent through November.

Clark County sales were up 8.6 percent. Washoe County sales were up 5.3 percent.

Pete Livermore has announced he will be running for a second term representing Assembly District 40, which encompasses most of Carson City.

Livermore served on the Carson City Board of Supervisors until he was elected to the Assembly in 2010, edging out fellow supervisor Robin Williamson.

The following is the text of a press release sent out by Livermore today:

CARSON CITY – A panel of key gaming figures and state officials will begin meeting next month to consider the impact of Internet gaming and other technological advances on Nevada’s major industry.

Gov. Brian Sandoval announced his five appointments to the Gaming Policy Committee yesterday. The full 11-member committee has not met since 1984. Sandoval will serve as chairman.

CARSON CITY – A state panel today supported a request from the Department of Taxation for $260,000 to hire a team of auditors to track cigarette sales to protect a $40 million a year payment to Nevada from the nation’s major tobacco companies.

Some Nevadans are trying to start a new political party called the "DuoFreedomists" which they claim would serve moderates put off by the Republicans and Democrats. The group's policy goals to “freeze, shrink and shift” taxation and spending is very similar to those of the Tea Party.

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Artist Brent Sommerhauser will be showing his work "Brushing the Firmament" at the Nevada Arts Council's OXS Gallery, 716 N. Carson St., through Feb. 10.

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Carson High School teacher Erin Been's passion for fitness has made her a Healthy Schools Program Champion, a recognition awarded by Alliance for a Healthier Generation. She has worked to make CHS students and teachers make fitness more fun with programs like morning yoga classes, incorporating dance into phys-ed classes and offering after-school programs to promote nutrition and healthy cooking.

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Carson High football coach Blair Roman recognized the seniors on his team at the season-ending awards banquet Monday night. The team has won a share of the league title three straight years, including this season's 10-2 record.

Carson City's taxable sales jumped a whopping 11.7 percent in August. But Department of Taxation officials say it was a one-time event, caused when auditors discovered $6.69 million in unpaid taxe...

Nevada could take in $16 million less in tax dollars this year due to online sales, according to a new report by the Retail Association of Nevada (RAN).
Sales tax currently accounts for 28.3 percent of the state’s general fund revenue while gaming taxes bring in 23.6 percent. Nevada ranks 11th in the nation in terms of sales tax reliance, according to a Congressional Research Service report, while the state’s maximum sales tax rate, 8.1 percent in Clark County, ranks 20th.

CARSON CITY — Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced he has named William Chisel as Director of the Nevada Department of Taxation, effective Monday, September 12th.

A key aspect of the recent virulent debate over the debt ceiling had to do with the question of raising tax rates, at least on the super-wealthy, in exchange for deep cuts in government spending. Before we can evaluate the pros and cons of that “grand compromise,” let's look at current tax rates and understand who pays what income taxes.

CARSON CITY – Last year Gov. Brian Sandoval was pleased to display a copy of Chief Executive magazine in which Nevada ranked 5th best among the states as a place to do business based on a survey of more than 600 chief executive officers.

Some of the highest excise tax revenues among the states are collected in Nevada, a new report from the Mercatus Center shows.
Nevada is one of six states – along with Connecticut, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and West Virginia – that collect over $600 in excise revenues per capita.

CARSON CITY – Nevada ranks 6th among the states in a new index generated by the Mercatus Center called “Freedom in the 50 States, An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom.”

CARSON CITY – Some GOP lawmakers say a bill introduced late in the just-ended 2011 session appears to be an attempt to move the Nevada Legislature more toward a full-time operation in the period in-between the biennial sessions.
Republican lawmakers critical of Assembly Bill 578 also say it would limit participation on interim policy panels by many of the 63 state lawmakers.

CARSON CITY – A bill curtailing the use of “puppy mills” passed out of committee today, leaving it one Assembly floor vote away from reaching the governor’s desk.
After amendments, Senate Bill 299 would allow local governments to require dog and cat breeders to obtain a permit. The breeder’s workplace would also be open for inspection, and breeders would be required not to breed female dogs younger than 18 months or more than once per year.

A single computer purchase by a Carson manufacturing firm boosted the capital's February taxable sales by 8 percent.Taxation officials won't release the name of the company because of confidentiali...

Statewide taxable sales for February increased 4.3 percent over last year and represents a 5 percent increase for eight consecutive months, the state's Department of Taxation reports today. Carson City saw a 10.4 percent increase over last year, likely because of the State Legislature session.

CARSON CITY – The Nevada Tax Commission today agreed to undertake a review of the exemptions granted mining companies to ensure the proper amount of taxes are being paid by the industry to the state and county governments.
The request for the review came from Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, acting in the capacity as a private citizen, using a state law to request the commission to undertake an emergency rule-making process.

CARSON CITY – Advocates for a tax hike on cigarettes and liquor made their case in the Nevada Legislature today, both to raise revenue and improve public health.
The proposal received a mixed reaction from lawmakers, and some lobbyist opposition, however, because of the negative consequences on business.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Advocates for a tax hike on cigarettes and liquor made their case in the Nevada Legislature today, both to raise revenue and improve public health.
The proposal received a mixed reaction from lawmakers, and some lobbyist opposition, however, because of the negative consequences on business.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Tax revenues, or more specifically the lack thereof, have been topic No. 1 during the 2011 legislative session.
Thus far it’s been mostly talk, with GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval saying no to any new taxes or fees and some Democrat lawmakers saying additional revenues are essential to preserve education and critical social services. Republican lawmakers thus far are standing with the governor.

I missed this one yesterday, that Assemblyman Cresent Hardy (R-Mesquite) introduced a bill to eliminate early voting in Nevada.

Huh?

Considering that early voting is hugely popular, accounting for about half of the votes in the last election, why does Hardy have a problem with this?

According to him, some group in Las Vegas who he will not name asked him to introduce the bill. Why would this group not want to be named?

Dino DiCianno, director of the Nevada Department of Taxation, resigned last week after admitting that the department can't audit the tax deductions claimed by the state's mining industry. But in this 2006 video, he does a short comedy routine about how well they collect taxes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFWFbWuVCd8

Perhaps Dino should have had 'Bear' auditing the mining companies.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford has requested emergency legislation to conduct a performance audit of the revenue collection functions of the Department of Taxation following questions last week about the thoroughness of the agency’s review of mining tax payments.

(Updated at 2:12 p.m. on March 14, 2011 to include new comments from Sandoval Administration)
CARSON CITY – Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford has requested emergency legislation to conduct a performance audit of the revenue collection functions of the Department of Taxation following questions last week about the thoroughness of the agency’s review of mining tax payments.