Petition proposed for hiking gaming taxes

Monday, Jan. 14, 2002 | 9:13 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- Barry Michaels is following in the footsteps of state Sen. Joe Neal, D-Las Vegas, in an effort to boost taxes on the gambling industry.

Michaels of Las Vegas filed notice Friday with the secretary of state's office that he will circulate an initiative petition to raise the tax from the present 6.25 percent on gross revenue to 10.25 percent, with the added money going to public schools.

Michaels earlier this month submitted an initiative petition aimed at giving fathers more rights in child custody cases.

For both petitions he must gather 61,336 signatures of registered voters and there must be 10 percent of the registered voters in 13 of the 17 counties.

Michaels said he has met with Neal, whose attempt to raise the gaming tax through an initiative petition two years ago failed.

But Michaels said he hopes to get the Nevada State Education Association behind him. That's the union of schoolteachers who gathered signatures to impose a profits tax on business in Nevada for education. They obtained the necessary signatures, but the Nevada Supreme Court ruled the petition was defective.

Michaels said he doesn't have the backing of the union's leadership, but he hopes to convince the rank and file to join him in gathering the signatures.

Michaels, self-employed in the software business, filed notice of an initiative petition on Jan. 2 to require judges in most cases to award joint physical custody of the children after a divorce, if one of the parties requested it.