Few concerned with plan to raise sin taxes

Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2003 | 9:51 a.m.

Liquor flowed at Las Vegas bars Monday night.

Smokers puffed away on their cigarettes.

Off-work employees tucked six packs under their arms, despite Gov. Kenny Guinn's proposed $1 billion tax hike, including raises on everything from owning property to tobacco, alcohol and entertainment.

Even a 15-cent increase per $100 on assessed valuation in property taxes didn't phase people.

Asked if the property tax increase would change her mind, E. Ward, a 32-year resident in the process of purchasing a home, said, "Probably not."

Ward is buying a home in the southwest area of the Las Vegas Valley and has two children, ages 9 and 10.

"In the long run, we'll see," Ward said of the governor's proposed tax increases.

As news of the tax hike on cigarettes -- an increase of 70 cents per pack for a total of $1.05 cents -- most smokers shrugged in resignation.

No one said they planned to change their lifestyles or their habits if the Legislature enacts the governor's tax plan.

Guinn followed for the most part the recommendations from the eight-member Governor's Task Force on Tax Policy in Nevada, which sought to broaden the tax base.

"You know what? It's part of life," said a Henderson restaurant bartender who didn't want to be named. "You can't do anything about it."

Some said they might think about quitting their smoking habits. A pack of cigarettes costs $4 today. In a casino or resort, smokers pay up to $6 per pack now.

A few noted New York's $7.50 tab for a pack.

"My brother runs a convenience store in the Bronx," said Jimmy Singh at the A-Z Discount Food and Tobacco shop. "It's $6.99 per pack plus tax, which brings it to $7.50. They're still buying. Nobody is going to stop them."

A smoker who puffs a pack a day would pay $255.50 a year in increased taxes.

A total of 21 states will have raised taxes on cigarettes this year.

Native Las Vegas resident Diane Rossi sounded a note of caution.

"People won't realize the impact until it's too late," Rossi, a restaurant manager, said. "They won't say anything until after it's done."

The taxes the governor proposed, Rossi noted, are part of an individual's or family's discretionary spending. "It adds up," she said.

The proposed tax increases would take dollars from both residents and tourists.

Typical reactions to Guinn's state of the state speech outlining the tax increases were indifference to resignation.

A 40-year Las Vegas resident, who declined to give his name, said he didn't smoke and he drank very little alcohol. "It won't affect me much," he said, sipping a second glass of red wine.

The alcohol tax increases 88 percent a gallon with different rates for different types of liquor. Beer jumps from 9 cents per gallon to 17 cents a gallon; wine goes from 40 cents per gallon to 75 cents and a gallon of hard liquor with 14 to 22 percent alcohol content doubles from 75 cents to $1.41 while anything over 22 percent is a $1.80 increase from $2.05 to $3.85.