Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Chamber not being fair

Tuesday, March 18, 2003 | 8:28 a.m.

ACTION ALERT -- Gross Receipts Tax.

That was the subject line of the latest e-mail effort by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce to certain of its members last week. The request was simple: encourage the writing of letters describing how a one-quarter of one percent tax of the gross revenues of Nevada businesses would affect the business world.

But just like most of the communications from the Chamber of Commerce over all these years, when it comes to businesses paying anything toward the betterment of this state, there was some duplicity afoot. Unlike most of the other covert efforts, this time it was right out front.

After asking business owners to "describe" the effect of such a tax, the next line in the message was, "We need your help to defeat the gross receipts tax!"

What, one might ask, about the thousands of Nevada businessmen and businesswomen who have looked at the potential effect on their businesses and weighed the benefits of being able to buy schoolbooks where none exist. Or hire teachers to teach the children moving to the state by the thousands, where the alternative would be to cut existing teachers and, perhaps, double class sizes and cut school hours in half. Or pay for increasing costs of health care for seniors, which is one of the fastest-growing segments of our population. Or, I suppose, just letting those who need help most just, what, suffer?

What about those people whose livelihoods depend on their being able to conduct business in Nevada in as efficient a manner possible, and who have decided that the exemptions for small businesses as proposed allows them to grow and prosper in the kind of state in which they want to raise their families? And what about those people who have built lives in this state who understand the dire straits we are in when we lead the country -- in all the worst ways -- in most quality- of-life categories and who don't want to live like this anymore?

Does the chamber's one-size-fits-all attitude that they "must defeat the gross receipts tax" actually serve the thousands of businesses statewide who think that everyone needs to pull their weight in this state and that means the passage of a gross receipts tax is essential to that goal? The answer to that question is no.

And, yet, the chamber wants people to write letters urging the defeat of that part of Gov. Kenny Guinn's proposal to save this state from the kind of fate that is banging at the doors of at least half of the 50 states in this Union. We are broke and we need to be fixed.

The fairest way to do that is to ask everyone in the state to pay just a little toward making things right, rather than asking any one group of people or businesses to carry the entire burden. That's why the gross receipts tax was but one part of the recommendations the Governor's Tax Force on Tax Policy (of which I was a member) made to him and the Legislature late last year. A little bit of pain for everyone made more sense than a lot more pain for just a few.

Even Kara Kelley, the chamber's leader and chief spokesperson, testified that she didn't know enough about the specifics of the gross receipts tax to outright oppose it because it was too early in the legislative process to see how things would shake out. Now she is asking for its defeat. Is it possible that the chamber is speaking out of all sides of its mouth at the same time?

One thing some of the business folks are content to do is pass as much of any tax burden needed directly onto the backs of Nevada's families without so much as a courtesy stop at their own pay windows. We all know that it is the consumers who will ultimately pay any increased tax bill over time. But there is also some reason to believe that to the extent competitive forces require it, some of the tax increases will be borne directly by those who own the businesses and who, surprise, surprise, can most afford to pay!

I know that my family's tax burden under the governor's proposal will be significant. And, yet, I also believe Kenny Guinn when he says that that sacrifice must be made if we are to have a state in which we all want to live. I and most of my chamber friends are willing to pay the extra money to make life better for all Nevadans.

So, who is it who is really driving the anti-tax fervor at the chamber and acting against the will of the vast majority of business owners? Who among the chamber elites is content to "Just Say No" to everything rather than saying "yes" to a fair sharing of the tax burden?

Come out, come out, whoever you are. Make yourselves known to the rest of the state so we have someone to thank for the troubles we are having.