Wrong tax numbers delay session

Kirsten Searer

Wednesday, March 23, 2005 | 9:05 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A joint legislative committee was supposed to meet Tuesday to hear projections on how the proposed plans to curb property taxes will affect local governments.

But legislators found out this week that staff members had been working with inaccurate figures.

Staff members discovered that tax rolls coming from county assessors and the Department of Taxation differed, forcing them to redo some of their math.

"It was a rather big difference," said Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas.

The problem should be fixed in a day or two, and legislative leaders said they still intend to come up with a way to curb property taxes by the end of the month.

"The bottom line is we're just going to come together and pass one out or face the wrath of the voters," Buckley said.

Still, several legislative leaders said there is no real consensus.

"I don't think anybody's plan is either on or off the table," said Senate Taxation Committee Chairman Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, who said he is leaning toward imposing some sort of simple cap on assessed values.

He also said he would want to set aside money to help local governments that might lose revenue because of the cap.

"I've almost come full circle to a flat cap," said McGinness, who plans to discuss the property tax plans in depth at a Taxation Committee meeting Thursday.

Buckley said she is tinkering with the idea she presented last week, which has the backing of the Democratic Assembly caucus.

The plan would give hardship exemptions to people with homes whose taxable values are $500,000 or less. Those homeowners would be assured their taxes would not go up more than 4 percent a year.

Other properties -- including homes worth more than $500,000 -- would be given a simulated tax rate that would ensure they don't pay more than the rate of growth in their county plus the rate of the Consumer Price Index.

Some legislators have openly complained that the $500,000 number is arbitrary and would not give relief to some homeowners who need it.

"I get concerned about any threshold," said McGinness, who said he is worried that a homeowner whose home has a taxable value just over $500,000 might need help, too.

Buckley said the $500,000 cut-off would include 97 percent of homes in Clark County.

But she said she is working with Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, on a "spike buster" that would give extra relief to homeowners whose property values have doubled over a year.

"If that helps alleviate more concerns then we'll roll it into the plan," she said.

Hettrick represents Incline Village, where homeowners have seen large spikes in their values.

Hettrick has said he now favors a cap on assessed values but is looking at other ideas. He said he won't make any decisions until he sees numbers on how plans would affect school districts.

Other legislators said this week they're looking at their own methods of curbing property taxes.

Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, explained his bill Tuesday to the joint committee looking at property taxes. It would allow homeowners to claim a hardship and put off paying part of their property taxes until they sell their home.

The government would basically put a lien on the home to ensure it would collect the money when the home is sold, Coffin said.

"This bill is meant to stand alone or to be part of whatever solution is proposed by the Legislature," he said.

Hettrick voiced concern, though, that people would claim a hardship even if they didn't have one because they could basically get an interest-free loan.

"It's not good to teach people to borrow money for nothing," he said. "I think people would take advantage of free interest and no penalties."

Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, said he and several other legislators are working on their own plan that they hope to introduce in the coming days. He is another member of the Taxation Committee.

Townsend declined to give details of the plan but said, "You'll see it, and you'll go, 'Oh, wow, this is so simple.' "

If his plan doesn't work out, Townsend said, he said he likes the idea from Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, and Sen. Joe Heck, R-Henderson, to freeze tax rates this year and cap them at the rate of inflation next year.

He said he is also waiting to make any final decisions until he sees numbers on how the plans would work.

"You can't do it until you get the numbers," he said. "I think everything else you're just pushing money on a plate."