Steven Horsford calls on Nevada regulators to close mining tax loopholes

By Anjeanette Damon

Monday, March 21, 2011 | 7:09 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, today called on the Nevada Tax Commission to close what he described as tax loopholes used by mining companies to increase their deductions.

Addressing the commission as a “private citizen” not as the majority leader, Horsford said the mining industry has spent decades carving out special regulations that conflict with state law on what they are allowed to deduct from their net proceeds tax.

“The bottom line is it’s wrong and we know it’s wrong,” Horsford said. “Let’s fix it.”

State law allows mining companies to deduct what it costs them to mine and process the ore, specifying what can be claimed. Horsford said the regulations written to implement those laws allow more deductions than were intended in statute.

He named salaries for corporate employees, housing, marketing and reclamation costs as improper deductions allowed through the regulations.

The tax commission is responsible for writing the regulations after a series of public hearings.

“We put a whole lot of time trying to develop fair regulations,” Commissioner John Marvel, defending the commission’s work.

Lawmakers also give final approval to the regulations before they are implemented.

But Horsford had no patience for assigning responsibility for the loopholes. He just wants them closed.

“The loopholes need to be closed now,” he said.