It’s time for legislators to face up to taxes

Howard Ginsburg, Las Vegas

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

At a time when more businesses seem to be closing than opening, unemployment is rampant, the middle class is slowly disappearing and teachers, police and firefighters accept salary cuts and increased workloads, it is past time for legislators to show backbone and leadership.

For years we have heard suggestions to raise money through a state lottery, with the profits going to education as occurs in other states. This has never really come close to passing because the all-powerful casino lobby opposes it.

Why not mandate that half of the state lottery outlets be placed in casinos and allow them to keep 5 cents from each dollar they sell? If the casino industry still objects to this, then give the casinos the option of paying slightly higher taxes to make up for the money that the lottery would have been expected to earn.

I’m a retired New York City teacher of 30 years who moved to Las Vegas 11 years ago. I live very comfortably on my pension and Social Security despite paying approximately 15 percent of that combined income in federal income tax. Why can I afford to pay a 15 percent tax and yet the mining industry is limited by law to paying no more than a 5 percent tax on net proceeds? With the price of silver and gold skyrocketing, surely the industry can pay a tax equivalent to that of a retired teacher.

Since living here I have often heard the Republican refrain of “no new taxes.” There is a natural tendency for most taxpayers to agree with this. Nobody wants to pay taxes.

But I pay no city income tax, no state income tax and a sales tax slightly less than that in New York. Property taxes? About the same in most other states. Are we being overtaxed in Nevada? I hardly think so.