Tax hike solutions moved to front burner

Kirsten Searer

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005 | 11:08 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- After hearing more than a full day of testimony from experts over the span of several meetings, legislative leaders said they're ready to start taking up proposed solutions for the problem of rising property taxes.

The sooner the better, said Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas. He asked the leaders of a joint committee looking at the issue to stop holding informational meetings and start hashing out the different plans that have been floated.

"I'd like to see us move into work session mode as soon as possible," Coffin said.

While legislators still hope to have some sort of solution in place by the end of March to help curb this year's property taxes, there are few specific proposals in the works, said Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson.

Perkins said legislators are waiting for a computer model that would analyze different scenarios.

The model would look to see if each proposal is "uncomplicated," would do harm to rural counties that have a smaller tax base, meet the constitutional amendment requiring properties to be taxed in a "uniform and equal" way, and protect homeowners if there is another "flare-up" in five or 10 years, Perkins said.

"If no is an answer to any of those, than the idea has to be discarded," said Perkins, who is chairman of the Assembly Growth and Infrastructure Committee, which will look at the property tax issue in the Assembly.

Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, leads the Senate Taxation Committee, which will handle the issue in the Senate. He said he hopes to have a brainstorming session Tuesday regarding the plans that have been floated.

A presentation Tuesday on the complicated tax levies in each county -- and how the government's ability to float bonds could be affected by property tax caps -- "just further complicates" the issue, McGinness said.

Perkins agreed, saying the entire property tax system is complicated and "messed up." Perhaps the entire property tax system in the state should be re-examined, he said.