(NN&V Staff) – In response to an article in Tuesday’s Las Vegas Sun, Right Pride is going after State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford for omitting important information in his call for a $1.5 billion tax hike in the 2011 legislative session.
Senator Horsford, who violated his 2008 campaign pledge not to support tax increases during a recession, told the Las Vegas Sun that an additional $1.5 billion in taxes is needed to close an estimated $3 billion budget shortfall. Horsford also suggested cutting $1.5 billion in programs, or shifting them to local governments along with their burdensome costs as unfunded mandates.
Nevada’s budget currently has an estimated $1.76 billion gap if everything remains as it is today, virtually eliminating the need to raise taxes again during a recession if Horsford is willing to cut $1.5 billion in spending and state agencies honor Governor Jim Gibbons request to reduce their appropriations by 10%.
“The Senator claimed we should be ‘honest and straightforward,’ yet he refuses to discuss Nevada’s budget crisis in real terms.” said Mark Ciavola, president of Right Pride, Nevada’s only organization representing gay conservatives and their allies. “Senator Horsford neglects to inform taxpayers that a $3 billion budget shortfall will only be a reality if the state’s furlough program is eliminated and across-the-board pay raises are re-instated for state workers, among other planned spending increases.”
During his interview with the Sun, Senator Horsford confirmed that he no longer advocates a corporate income tax, but failed to address a bill he sponsored (SB 432) which prepares the state for a business transaction tax or alternative business tax. The bill currently sits in the Committee on Finance.
“It is time to hold our elected leaders accountable for their words and their actions,” stated Ciavola. “Mr. Horsford said ‘None of us want to raise taxes,’ but his record tells a completely different story.”