Neal: Raise gaming taxes, ban campaign money from casinos

Thursday, Feb. 4, 1999 | 11:15 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sen. Joe Neal, a major critic of the gaming industry, has introduced a trio of bills to increase casino taxes, stop political contributions from casinos and erase the tax break for art given Steve Wynn two years ago.

But Neal doesn't have any support. The chairman of the Senate Taxation Committee, where two of the three bills were referred, says he doubts the votes exist to pass the measures.

That doesn't bother Neal, D-North Las Vegas, who says if the tax and political contributions bills fail in the Legislature, he will lead an initiative petition to get voter approval.

When he introduced the three measures Wednesday, he asked if any other senator wanted to sign as a co-sponsor. There was dead silence in the Senate.

Senate Bill 88 would raise the tax on casinos with a gross win of $1 million a month from the present 6 1/4 percent to 8 1/4 percent and bring in an estimated $125 million over the next two years.

Senate Bill 86 would make it a felony for a casino with a nonrestricted license or owners and officers in the business to contribute to state and local political campaigns.

Senate Bill 90 repeals the personal property and sales tax exemption given on artworks sought two years ago by Wynn for his Bellagio hotel-casino.

The 225 major casinos in Nevada posted $1.1 billion in profits in fiscal 1998, and Neal wants some of that money to go to the state for education.

Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, chairman of the Taxation Committee, said he will schedule public hearings on the tax increase and the art exemption bills, but he doesn't give them much of a chance. He doubted Neal could muster four votes to get them out of committee.

McGinness said he opposed the art tax exemption in 1997, and he and Neal may be the only votes on the committee for the repeal this session.

The bill banning political contributions was referred to the Senate Government Affairs Committee.

Gov. Kenny Guinn also said Wednesday he would oppose any new taxes.

Acknowledging he may have little chance of getting the tax increase, Neal said he's preparing the initiative petition to ask the voters in 2000 to approve the 2 percent increase.

To qualify for the ballot would require the signatures of 44,009 voters on the petition with 10 percent of the voters in 13 of the 17 counties.

Harvey Whittemore, lobbyist for the Nevada Resort Association, said the casinos can't afford a tax increase. He called it "exorbitant and inappropriate" because the industry is presently facing "economic difficulties."

"He's (Neal) seeking way too much and the industry, frankly, can't afford it," Whittemore said. "This is the time where the debate has to be looking at a more stable source of taxing revenue, not going back to impacting those institutions which are presently operating in the state."

On the bill to prohibit the casino industry from making political contributions, Neal said he has a legal opinion that it is constitutional. And he said a similar law has been upheld in New Jersey.

The objective, he said, is to reduce the influence of casinos on politics.

"Right now gaming dictates just about everything that goes on. In fact, they are the outside Legislature, so to speak. Whatever they want they have been able to get," Neal said.

When Neal ran unsuccessfully for governor, he received only one gaming contribution, $240 from the Red Lion Inn in Elko to cover his lodging bill. But in past years Neal accepted gaming contributions.

Whittemore said Neal's comments about the gaming influence on politics is "overstated." There's no evidence that a legislator who accepts a political contribution is open to sale, he said.

During the gubernatorial campaign, Neal led the fight to restrict the art tax break given Wynn for his collection at the Ballagio. And he intends to continue it in the Legislature.

Neal also introduced Senate Bill 89 to create a fund to help poor people pay their utility bills.