A Better Way to Create Jobs than Giving Away the Store to Faraday

Conservative assemblywoman opposes luring Faraday with unconstitutional tax give-aways

(Assemblywoman Shelly Shelton) – Today your state Legislature is in a special session called for the purpose of extending favorable tax incentives, breaks, abatements and an assortment of other favors for a Chinese company, that as of a year ago, was unable to get a license to manufacture cars in China because of a lack of experience in that field.

The company has experience making cell phones, but as of yet, have not shown the ability to put wheels on one and make it a car.

Today, without even so much as a prototype, the citizens of Nevada are spending nearly $100,000 for the special session alone, calling in lawmakers for this “emergency” measure.

Nevadans, we have a much greater emergency on our hands.  We passed the largest tax increase in the history of our state six months ago.  Companies have already began moving their operations to more favorable states or going out of business altogether.

The information we have been given so far has emphasized the jobs that will be created by the proposed government handout to the mystery Chinese phonemaker/carmaker.

Of course we all want more jobs for Nevadans, and I hope Faraday Future can create thousands of new jobs just like any other business, by utilizing a good business plan, sound operating principles and providing a product people will want to buy.

But there is another, fairer and more time tested way to create jobs.  That is by keeping taxes low for the businesses that have already invested in Nevada and those willing to come here on their own dime instead of ours.  In spite of the looming tax increases, small business in Nevada already created more jobs last year than Faraday claims they will create in the next 20 years.

With that in mind I have submitted to LCB the following amendment to be put into the necessary legal language and considered with the tax abatement bill for Faraday.

“Any Nevada Business that increases their 30+ hr per week workforce in any given year by 2% or more will be granted exemption from half of all Nevada State Taxes for that year”.

If the average wage of the increased employees exceeds $22/hr the business will be exempt from ALL Nevada State Taxes for that year.

This is a job growth amendment in perpetuity. ” 

If only half the businesses in Nevada utilize this tax break it will create 200,000 new jobs in the same time frame that Faraday claims they will create between 4500 and 13,000.

It’s time for the Legislature to put their money where their mouth is.  If it is jobs we want to create, lets create them.

(Ms. Shelton is a Republican assemblywoman representing Clark County, Nevada)