Rebates are expected to help state economy

Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2005 | 8:40 a.m.

To get more information about the rebate, go to www.dmvnv.com/rebate or call 486-2339.

Cheryl Ajifu was pleased to find a state rebate check in her mailbox Saturday.

"It was kind of nice," she said.

The checks, part of the Legislature's $300 million rebate plan, started arriving in the mailboxes of nearly 2 million people on Saturday.

The checks range between $75 to $275 and go to people who had a vehicle registered in Nevada. Checks of $75 for people 65 years or older who had an identification card, but no car, are expected to go out in the next few weeks.

Nevadans have been eagerly watching their mailboxes. The state has been swamped with more than 6,000 calls to its hotline since Friday and more than 70,000 hits on its Web site.

The rebate isn't expected to be a huge boon to the economy -- the total amount makes up only 11 percent of the taxable sales in the state in July, the latest numbers available.

Still, "the consumers will go out and spend those dollars," said Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst at Applied Analysis of Las Vegas.

Aguero said consumers who put it into savings or debt will likely be in the minority.

"That doesn't mean that none will," he said. "That's what we saw (with federal tax rebates this decade). Some people will use it to pay down debt. Our credit card debt is substantially higher than it was 24 months ago."

Ajifu and her husband, Glenn, are planning to use the rebate to pay part of their business tax due next month.

Others might use it to pay off their next years' registration, although DMV spokesman Kevin Malone said his department wasn't expecting any increase in customers after the checks come.

Green Valley resident Derek Bell hadn't seen his check yet but planned to take a few days off when he did.

"It's like free money," Bell said.

Sun reporters Cy Ryan and Nick Christensen contributed to this story.