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Published Friday, Nov. 12, 2010 | 2:32 p.m.
Updated Friday, Nov. 12, 2010 | 2:33 p.m.
Last week, Governor-elect Brian Sandoval told Face to Face host Jon Ralston that he considers a tax to be different from a fee. The admission prompted the typical hue and cry from conservatives who believe a fee increase is a hidden tax increase.
But today Sandoval’s incoming chief of staff put to rest the idea that Sandoval would include fee increases in his proposed budget.
“I don’t believe fee increases or taxes will be part of this budget,” Heidi Gansert said during a taping of To the Point. “I know they won’t.”
Gansert did reaffirm that the administration will be looking to suck revenue out of local coffers, most notably the Clark County School District.
“It’s important we get funds to education and there is quite a bit sitting in Clark County right now,” she said.
Taxes are usually paid by everyone for the benefit of society.
Fees are paid by those using the service or getting the benefit of it's use.
Both are needed, and should be used wisely...
The more I learn about Mr. Sandoval's agenda, the better I like him. So far, he seems to be just what we need to head-up the Nevada government right now. The legislature had better tow the line on the budget and be conservative if they value their jobs. Sure, there is going to be some whining by folks who are getting their budgets cut and those who have been freeloaders. But, it is necessary to trim the budget drastically right now.
The people of Clark County paid additional taxes to fund the CCSD and now Sandoval wants to take money from Clark County residents to pay for services all over the state.
Bull s**t.
Meanwhile, local governments like Henderson, who wisely saved money for rainy days, are now going to have their rainy day funds gutted by the state because the state was incapable of seeing beyond its nose.
Chicken S**t.
Seems like I heard this before as spreading the wealth, Taking from one to give to another. Hmmmm there not so different after all.
Sooner or later the state's $3 billion shortfall has to be taken care of. There are several options in cutting the education budget without cutting the quality of education, a few simple ones are cutting down the numbers of bureaucratic positions all the way from Elementary School to our universities. There are many non-productive bureaucrats, that do not contribute to the quality of education, that need to be removed. Another scheme would be to cut down a few of our graduate school programs where the majority of students are not even from the US much less Nevada but are rather from India, China, etc. Now, these graduate students are being subsidized in getting masters and doctorates at tax payer expense. There are quite a few graduate programs at UNR, and I am sure at UNLV as well, where the majority of students, in some cases 90% or more, are not even from the U.S., much less NV, but are from foreign countries. These graduate programs where these foreign students obtain their degrees are subsidized by our state, but instead they are now being used to subsidize foreign students. I don't understand this situation as UNR was a Land Grant institution and the same with UNLV, its off-shoot. It would be cheaper for the few native students who want to go to graduate school to be even subsidized by the state of NV to attend school out of state. Similarly, I have also become aware of some hospitals interviewing nurses and doctors who are flown in to the U.S. from overseas for interviews for jobs here in NV. This is a crime and needs to be eliminated. On the one hand our medical school in NV is unbending in not letting deserving Nevadan students enter school, however, without a second thought the local hospitals have no qualms about hiring foreign doctors and nurses. When I mean foreign I mean that they are not permanent residents or citizens of this country and are admitted to the graduate schools of our universities here in NV, because the faculty can treat them like servants, which some do, or in some cases most of the faculty of our various universities bring in students from their home countries. In the case of the import of doctors and nurses the goal is to get these people probably because they will again work like donkeys and will not ask for as much money as the local Nevadan natives.
If we also want to create or even maintain jobs here in NV, then the people hiring illegal aliens need to be fined heavily so that they are made as an example to other employers. It is time that Governor Elect Sandoval, Senators Ensign and Reid work together on the above to start solving some of the problems our state faces instead of bickering with each other.
We've been down the "No new tax" road -- and this is where it got us. We have to cut half our expenditures to balance the state budget. Of $6.4 Bn budgeted, $3.6 is Education. If we cut all of that money out of the budget, we are in balance with no new taxes or fees. Other than that, things start getting pretty difficult. If we cut out all human services and public safety activities for a year, we only save about $2.4 Bn. So maybe we can do that and hope that all the felons running around loose and people dying in the streets will increase our attractiveness to tourists who will generate enough revenue to balance the budget. Or we could do some combination of careful cutting and tax and fee increases -- but that would require good judgment and common sense. Nah! Better to be ideologically pure and destroy our home than use common sense or good judgment.
Why is it that no one wants to take the freely offered tax revenue money from the BROTHEL INDUSTRY? This industry has been around for well over a century, is LEGAL, and is a sustainable resource for revenue for the State of Nevada! Money is green! I cannot believe that citizens rather suffer: lose their jobs, lose their homes, lose any semblance of a happy and normal life, because of discrimination. Oh, it may be easier to let Governor Gibbons or Senator Ensign (and all the others) off the hook over their indiscriminate tendancies, and judge (the legal brothel industry)others without mercy while staying that course to gloryland. The Nevada State Legislature needs to get a grip and look at this as a TAX REVENUE, and nothing more. Nevada will not have a budget crisis, it will begin to have a reserve!!! Face it, the brothel industry has been around before clocks counted time. It is legal here in Nevada. Use common sense, use good judgement and TAX IT!
Star, not taxing brothels (and prostitution) seems to be tied up with morality. That is odd for a state whose economy is bottomed on gambling, which it does tax. Maybe "no new taxes" is really designed to protect brothels from the moral hazard of taxation. I guess some folks find it more moral to tax food than to tax sex.
@Richard.
So the plan is to take money collected from only Clark County residents for the Clark County School District and distribute it to the rest of the state?
Who are the freeloaders now?
I was unaware that Nevada was not taxing the brothel business. I guess next time I will look at my receipt...
Personally, I see no major harm by controlled prostitution in Las Vegas. Take the "working women" and "working men," as the case may be, and put them in licensed and taxed brothels.
A few benefits of controlled brothels would be an increase in visitors, increase in tax revenue, and an increase in jobs.
It's time for our elected officials to consider legalized and controlled prostitution for Las Vegas...
The construction money that the CCSD is holding is being used to keep old schools running. Its not a good idea to take that money, unless you want the buildings our kids are in each day to crumble.
The brothel industry, as late as last February, asked in open testimony to the legislature that they be taxed. They are not currently taxed. They offered 2.5 million a year. In addition, they said that if the law preventing brothels from operating in counties with a population of 400,000 or more were recinded, they could turn in at least 250 million each year to state coffers. Plus it would take care of the illegal prostitution problem in Clark and Washoe just like it has in the rest of Nevada's counties. Time to "man up" and take advantage of this new tax stream instead of cutting hearing aids to the elderly.
In addition, expand the City of Las Vegas Constable Office's "455-FAIR" program that nabs people who have not registered their cars with DMV statewide. That would pull in millions more. Another new tax stream we can take advantage of.
Both of these ideas are fair and should be implemented immediately regardless of any politician's empty promise to to raise taxes, fees, or whatever they are calling them this year.
The big casinos are against legalizing prostitution.
They fear it would hurt the tourist industry for wives and girlfriends would not want their men to go to a city where prostitution was legal.
Maybe the wives and girlfriends could have a "working vacation."