Lawmaker, gaming exec spar over proposed casino tax hike

Jace Radke

Thursday, Aug. 17, 2000 | 10:55 a.m.

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According to the election ballot, state Sen. Joe Neal's opponent for his District 4 seat is Uri Clinton, but Neal says he's running against something bigger than any single opponent.

"My opponent for the District 4 Senate seat is the gaming industry," Neal said Wednesday night as he opened a debate on raising the gross casino revenue tax at the Culinary Union's training center at 707 Fremont St.

Neal needs to obtain the signatures of at least 44,009 registered voters by Nov. 14 to get a measure to raise the gaming tax from 6.25 percent to 11.25 percent on the ballot.

Mike Sloan, vice president of Mandalay Resorts and chairman of the Nevada Resort Association, verbally sparred with Neal, D-North Las Vegas for an hour in front of a crowd of about 75 people made up of mostly union members and candidates for political office. Neal says he knows that the tax hasn't won him any friends in the gaming industry, or the state legislature, where Neal's original proposal of a 2 percent tax increase received only his vote.

Sloan said no one supports the increase because it doesn't make sense, and that Neal refuses to acknowledge his widespread opposition.

"There is no consensus that a tax increase is even needed," Sloan said to applause from many of the union members. "Joe just has an idea, and since no one agrees with it everyone is all wrong and he's right."

Neal, a 27-year senator, who for the majority of the debate was soft-spoken compared to Sloan's more forceful rebuttals, gathered his voice to respond.

"Mr. Sloan would have you believe that Joe Neal stands alone on this issue," Neal said. "But in a poll in the newspaper it clearly showed that 63 percent of the people to 26 percent favor the tax increase, so Joe Neal does not stand alone."

Neal says his proposal would bring in an estimated $300 million annually from the bigger casinos to the state's coffers. But Sloan says the hike would force Nevada casinos to pay an unfair share of the state's taxes, and that such an increase will hurt the industry and could even lead to some casinos losing money.

"Where's the fairness between us and the other businesses and corporations in the state," Sloan asked. "Our industry employs 21 percent of the state's workers, but we pay the overwhelming majority of the taxes for the other 79 percent.

"His proposal is to go back to the biggest employer and taxpayer in the state and make it pay more."

Neal disagrees that the tax will hurt casino workers, saying that the proposal will tax the money that casinos make from nonlabor-intensive slot and video poker machines that rang up about $6 billion dollars in profits last year.

Neal says the tax is needed to help offset the cost of services needed by the 46 million people who visit Nevada every year.

"These temporary residents need all the services of police and hospitals that we provide to Nevada residents," Neal said.

Sloan argued that raising gaming taxes would only make the state more reliant on a single industry.

"Price Waterhouse and other financial institutions have said that it's a big mistake for Nevada not to diversify its tax base," Sloan said. "This kind of punitive tax increase will cause serious harm, and is the kind of thing that will put people out of business."

Neal will debate his other opponent in the District 4 Senate Race, Clinton, on Aug. 28 on Las Vegas ONE's "POV Vegas" talk show. Clinton has called Neal a one-issue senator who is no longer accountable to his constituency.