Tax group won’t back referendum

Kirsten Searer

Thursday, April 22, 2004 | 11:01 a.m.

Despite its dislike for the $833 million tax increase passed last year by the state Legislature, the fiscally conservative Nevada Taxpayers Association announced this week that its board will not support several referendums that would cut or eliminate the new taxes.

Almost all of the group's 44 board members, who are mostly members of the business community, said they oppose the initiative that would require Nevada's per-pupil expenditure to be funded at the national average by 2012.

Nevada Taxpayers Association President Carole Vilardo said the group doesn't think the 2003 tax increases are perfect, and she has submitted more than four pages of suggestions to an interim Legislative tax committee aimed at reforming the tax increases.

But, she said, the "Axe the Tax" referendum proposed by anti-tax activist George Harris could have "unintended consequences."

The referendum literally puts the 2003 tax package before Nevada voters.

If the taxes are repealed, the Legislature likely would have to go into a special session to determine what cuts to make or what other taxes to raise, Vilardo said.

They could look at raising either a gross receipts tax or a business income tax, she said. The taxpayers association opposes both, she said.

If voters OK the current tax increases, the Legislature would not be able to touch the tax package under state law, Vilardo said.

A state law bans the Legislature from changing any measure approved by voters. Any changes, even tax cuts, would have to be approved by voters.

Two of the referendums designed to repeal the taxes are no longer circulating -- tax activist Dan Burdish said he stopped circulating his referendums in March, when he realized that he was not receiving financial support he was promised, he said.

As for Harris' referendum, Burdish said, "I endorse it, but I'm not going to go out and get signatures."

Harris did not return a call seeking comment.

According to the Nevada Taxpayers Association e-mail newsletter, the group's board opposes the initiative to fund education at a national average because it "forces the Legislature to deal with an additional amount of money, totally unknown at this time, by either raising taxes or redirecting available funds.

The newsletter stated that the initiative "removes Legislative authority to determine the priorities of spending," and is "fiscally irresponsible."

Claudia Briggs, director of communications of the Nevada State Education Association, said the group is "used to the anti-education stance" of the taxpayers association.

"It's unfortunate that these are the people who called for higher standards and yet they're unwilling to provide the funding that is needed for those higher standards to be realized," she said.