(Chuck Muth) – Here we go again.
As noted by McKenna Ross of the Las Vegas Review-Journal this morning, Clark County voters approved a “temporary” property tax hike to fund more than 800 police officers at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 1996.
Which means those same voters are scheduled to get a tax CUT in 2026.
But as we all know, “temporary” tax hikes never seem to go away.
Instead, they’re made permanent or extended by politicians who love spending OPM: Other People’s Money. Which is exactly what Democrats in the Nevada Legislature want to do here.
Strong arguments are being made for extending this tax hike another 30 years. Fine. But that’s NOT what we’re talking about here.
The tax hike was approved by a vote of the people. They voted for it with the promise that it would go away. So if politicians want it extended, it should be by another vote of the people, right?
I mean, it’s just common sense. But no.
Democrat Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannibizzaro has introduced Senate Bill 451 (SB451) which would allow the Democrat majority in the Legislature and the Democrat majority on the Clark County Commission to hike the tax again WITHOUT a vote of the people.
This IS a tax hike.
Naturally, the tax hikers say it isn’t. But it is. Period.
It’s not even arguable. The bill itself plainly states at the very top that it “Requires a Two-Thirds Majority” to pass because it’s a tax hike.
By law, this tax is supposed to go away next year. Which means you and I would have more money in our pockets. But if the law is passed, we’ll be paying more than we otherwise would, as promised when it was originally passed.
That’s a tax hike.
Fortunately, we have a Republican governor in office who declared when he was running: “I’m telling you at this point, right here, in front of the audience and public viewers, I will not raise taxes. Never.”
Fortunately, Democrats don’t have the 2/3 super-majority needed to pass this tax hike in both the Assembly and the Senate without at least one Republican voting for it in each house.
Unfortunately, if you don’t think there are Republicans in Carson City right now who would vote with the Democrats to pass this tax hike, I’ve got beachfront property in Tonopah to sell you.
Last note: Some are saying there isn’t enough time to put the measure back on the ballot before the tax hike expires. Well, too bad.
These politicians have known this tax hike was scheduled to expire for almost 30 YEARS. Why did they wait so long to address the situation and put it back on the ballot?
Of course, the answer is simple: They know voters/taxpayers are tired of this hoodwinking and are likely to vote it down.
So if folks want to keep funding for those police officers – and count me as one of them – the correct solution is to cut funding for other non-essential government spending and re-direct that money to the cops on the street.
And if you don’t think there’s enough non-essential government spending to re-direct to law enforcement, I’ve got beachfront property in Tonopah to sell you.
And by the way, this is exactly what Gov. Lombardo said during his debate with former Gov. Steve Sisolak in October 2022.
When the moderator tried to trap Lombardo and pressed him with a hypothetical question about “needing” to raise taxes, say, for teachers, the governor was adamant…
“If you say there’s a situation where you say we need to raise taxes, I say we look inside first. … In my opinion, there’s always another way.”
Yes, there’s always another way. What’s missing is the will to make the tough spending cuts and prioritization by Democrats – and historically, some weak Republicans.
We are in the era of DOGE. Reflexively raising taxes instead of cutting and prioritizing spending is no longer the coin of the realm. Somebody needs to inform Nevada’s Democrats.
Just say no to SB541.
