Nevada senator: Politicians, business communicating

Alana Roberts

Tuesday, July 12, 2005 | 11:06 a.m.

Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, told a group of business leaders Monday that the difference between the 2003 and 2005 Nevada legislative sessions is that during the recent session politicians and business leaders found ways to effectively work together.

Townsend gave the keynote address to a group of about 70 leaders in the gaming industry, gaming suppliers, vendors and politicians at the luncheon hosted by the Nevada Tourism Alliance at the Texas Station Casino. The Nevada Tourism Alliance is a nonprofit trade association that lobbies on behalf of hotel and gaming companies, vendors, suppliers and other related businesses and organizations.

He said the reason why the gross receipts tax issue was so contentious during the 2003 legislative session was because business leaders and political leaders didn't effectively communicate their needs.

"We just stopped talking to one another," Townsend said.

Former Gov. Bob Miller, who spoke before Townsend, said the Nevada Tourism Alliance was formed in November to improve relations between business leaders and politicians and to protect the interests of tourism-related businesses. Both Miller and Townsend encouraged the luncheon's participants to get involved in the alliance.

Townsend also said business leaders should realize that they have a responsibility to reinvest in the community in the form of taxes. But he said both sides should work together to determine a fair tax structure.

"One of the things that's crucial for you to understand, with the success of your (business) comes infrastructure needs," Townsend said. "That does cost money. The key is monitoring the level you need."

However, Townsend said it isn't always easy to determine ahead of time what a fair tax structure is. He said an example of that is the $300 million surplus tax revenue that will be refunded to Nevadans in the form of $75 to $275 checks to motorists who registered their cars in 2004. He said the fact that there was a surplus indicates the vibrancy of the state's economy.

"It's an example of the dynamic nature of the Nevada economy," Townsend said.

He said the latest legislative session was less contentious because business interests and politicians worked together. He said some of the animosity between politicians from the gross receipts tax debate in 2003 would have carried over into this most recent session if legislators and business leaders didn't realize the need to resolve the property tax issue. Townsend said the property tax issue was resolved in the best way possible because politicians worked effectively with homeowners and business interests to achieve the property tax cap.

"We had to react to it immediately," Townsend said. "It fell in our lap. It could have been handled locally. At the end of the day we provided everything we could within the law to make it (property taxes) stable for you."