Discussion: 12 comments so far...

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1. By WilliamHill (William Hilton)

   May 31, 2011

   4:55 p.m.

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   Then the legislature should cut 18M worth of mining tax breaks to balance the loss. The Canadian and European mining companies can MORE than afford it after almost a decade of making BILLIONS off of Nevada Gold and Silver. Call your legislator at 1-800-978-2878 and DEMAND that the mining companies pay their fair share!

2. By TheSerfAttack

   May 31, 2011

   6:14 p.m.

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   Yea, sure its unconstitutional. What a load of absolute garbage. Whoever ruled on this is obviously in the pocket of someone and should be investigated. Who was the judge that ruled this I noticed you left that out, I want a name.

   Ill be back once I find if it doesnt get posted here first.

3. By TheSerfAttack

   May 31, 2011

   6:27 p.m.

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   You know this is a corrupt case because there is absolutely no information about it...

   So here is a few pieces of information I did find...

   District court main #

   885 E Musser St # 3031
   Carson City, NV 89701-3798
   (775) 887-2082

   Nevada Mining Association

   Mining lobbyist Jim Wadhams

   District Judge James Wilson (First Judge to hear the case)

   Attorney Bradley Scott Schrager (Lawyer who defended mining)

   Surpreme Court Judges
   Chief Justice Mark Gibbons (1996)
   Justice Michael Cherry (2007)
   Justice Nancy Saitta (2007)
   Justice Kris Pickering(2008)
   Justice Michael Douglas (2004)
   Justice James Hardesty (2005)
   Justice Ron Parraguirre (2005)

   http://www.nevadajudiciary.us/index.php/... (Faces of our supreme court)

   Unconstitutional... Since when does this government follow the constitution.

   What a load of corrupt garbage...

4. By LVLawDog

   May 31, 2011

   7:10 p.m.

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   The problem is not the decision; the problem is the Nevada Constitution which provides unequaled protection to mining companies. The Constitution needs to be amended. ASAP.

5. By renomuse

   May 31, 2011

   7:12 p.m.

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   Nevada, a corporate wasteland.

6. By Tanker1975

   May 31, 2011

   7:41 p.m.

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   We have already seen in recent days businesses testifying in support of extending the sunsets on certain taxes. The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce has come out in support of a broad based business tax that is linked to education reform. However, there is still an area that needs to be addressed. The Constitutional protection for the mining industry and the state laws that allow huge deductions need to undergo changes. I am not advocating the Alaska solution of a 25% royalty on oil companies, although based on recent earnings reports, that doesn't seem to have had a negative effect on their profits.Two mining companies are planning on opening mines in the Comstock Lode and the Carlin Trace.

   The issue was highlighted in a recent power point presentation at the Barrick Mining annual meeting. One of the mines highlighted in the power point was the Cortez Hills Mine in Northern Nevada. According to the power point, in 2010, the mine produced 114,000,000 ounces of gold (over 35 TONS) at a production cost of $312 per ounce. During the first quarter of 2011, the mine produced 366,000 ounces (over 11 TONS) of gold at a production cost of $220 per ounce. If you project a sale price of $1000 over cost of production,that results in a profit of over $1,500,000,000. Based on what the mining industry paid in taxes in 2009, the tax payment to the state of Nevada will probably be less than 50,000,000. The power point goes on to point out that the projected production from Cortez Hills for 2011 will be between 1.30 to 1.45 MILLION ounces (40-45 TONS)at a production cost of $235-245 per ounce. This is natural resource that should provide significant benefits to the citizens of Nevada. Unless the Legislature acts quickly, another two years will pass without any significant action to change the tax structure of the state.

   The broad based business tax needs to be passed. For companies like Wal-mart, Costco, the banks, Target, etc who operate in Nevada and pay no taxes is as unfair as the mining tax situation.

7. By Concerned4theFuture

   May 31, 2011

   9:53 p.m.

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   1) Not a, "...corrupt..." decision. The state constitution is unambiguous (so much so that even a non-lawyer could not misinterpret it). Impugning the honor and dignity of a public official without justification serves none of us well and is unbecoming.

   2) WE are the problem (as in, "We the people"). This problem with the constitution has been open and notorious, has existed, persisted, festered and has been unnecessary and inequitable, for at least seventy-five years. Yet WE have failed to do anything about it. Now, when circumstances are dire, we whine. Take some responsibility.

   3) The tax is unconstitutional, but the registration fee is not: raise it... substantially. If they are making billions, they will pay it...or someone else will.

   4) Strip the tax breaks they get. If 5% is the maximum they may be required to pay, then 5% is the amount they shall pay.

   5) Crawl up their respective mine shafts with a microscope and challenge every tax break, write-off or other offset they have claimed as far back as is allowed by law. Doggedly pursue anything that does not smell of virgin wool, exacting penalties and interest. Who knows? Perhaps we will find activities that rise to the level of criminal tax evasion, which is compelling leverage for a fat settlement in the state's favor.

   Brad Leutwyler, Henderson

8. By CynicalObserver

   May 31, 2011

   10:20 p.m.

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   This is why some legitimate group needs to write a Constitutional amendment ballot measure deleting the old "mining exemption" and instead imposing a gross receipts tax. If the tax on mining companies was on true gross receipts, we would not have to read boring articles about their expense write-offs and other bookkeeping manipulations.

   The reality is that the political muscle in terms of ballot measures is in Clark County, and it's really hard to find anyone in Clark County who is employed by the mining industry or gives a rat's patootie about whether the mining industry is "happy". On top of that fact is the fact that the mining industry doesn't create that many jobs in Northern Nevada anyway.

   I realize a ballot initiative is the "long way to go" but it's clear the Legislature has been sufficiently corrupted by mining industry money to get the job done, in either this section or the next.

9. By staralioflundnv (Star Ali Mistriel-Kogan)

   May 31, 2011

   11:57 p.m.

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   There is no better time than the present, for the Nevada State LAWMAKERS to begin taking steps forward towards changing the Nevada State Constitution regarding MINING TAX STRUCTURE and MINING TAX REFORMS. The People of Nevada expect nothing less.

   MINING has enjoyed over 100 years of exemptions and tax loopholes and paying a PITTANCE in taxes for all the NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES it hauls OUT of Nevada.

   ENOUGH.

   Nevada's own STATE health, welfare, educational system, and security, are wavering, for need of a positive revenue stream. MINING has drained the lifeblood out of Nevada and paid a pittance!

   It is time to do right for the People of Nevada, dear Neighbors. Foreign and out of state mining interests exploit our minerals and care little for our Nevada Citizens.

   With so little time left with this Nevada State Legislative Session, please contact your LAWMAKER/REPRESENTATIVE and let them know your feelings and what you expect to see them do. We need the Nevada Constitution FIXED in regards to MINING starting now, so we will have a more secure future with a consistent revenue stream. Thank YOU!

10. By chuck333

    June 1, 2011

    3:35 p.m.

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    I agree no more tax breaks and put them under a microscope. Raise their licenising fee's to make up the difference. And like another blogger said since when does our government follow the Constitution?

11. By airweare (Joe Lamy)

    June 1, 2011

    3:52 p.m.

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    Let's call it Skymining, and legalize Solar and Wind Energy in Vegas

    When German Chancellor Merkel made an about-face with her decision to terminate nuclear power following the devastation from Fukushima, she joined several other leaders in recognizing the liabilities of going down the Nuke road. Instead, Germany is bound to take the lead in energy efficiency and alternative power, developing the best jobs, implementing the finest applications of renewables, and showing the world that the cheapest power plant is the one we do NOT need to build.

    When one compares the available renewable resources of Germany to Nevada's, one notices several huge differences: though we are similar in size, the sunlight here is significantly better, the wind too. We are also blessed with geothermal resources that are the envy of the world. But are we using any of these??

    Mark my words. If Germany had half of we get for free, their engineers would be skymining the daylights out of the desert, twirling the windmills and aimin' all that geothermal bonanza into their manufacturing, education and culture. But do we??

    Germany has two things going for her that we lack -- initiative and technological expertise. Here in Nevada, we are PAYING to have the heat removed by burning imported fossils to make steam, electricity and huge amounts of wasted efforts. And we the people pay for all this inefficiency. In Germany, the CHPs (Combined Heat and Power plants) do with 90%++ efficiency what our plants barely do with 20%.

    Education in Germany is better because the parents and schools insist on challenging the youth to become leaders; in Nevada we lack political will and parenting skill. They push for excellence; we settle for mediocrity. They lead; we follow.

    In a few short years the savings and the quality of jobs Germans generate for themselves will pave the future paths for the world. We had it all, like Bogey and McCall. But we threw it all away.

    In a better world, Nevada would have gratitude for the sunlight and breezes, the geothermal opportunities and the unused construction force begging for work. Our schools would have benefited from the challenge of catching rays, saving power, finding solutions to worldwide issues by focusing on our own backyards, but we threw in the towel. We gave up before we started. 'Battle-born' has lost its meaning here; we languish in squandered potential and we lost it all.

12. By airweare (Joe Lamy)

    June 1, 2011

    5:09 p.m.

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    OOops... BACALL, not McCall. We had it all. I'm CLAIMING starstruck. That's my story and I'm sticking to starstruck.