(Michael Chamberlain/Nevada Business Coalition) – Those ravenous tax raisers are at it again, trying to sate their never-ending hunger for your money. They’ve invited themselves into your house and are turning over your cushions looking for any loose (and not so loose) change you may have.
Earlier this week, a group in the Nevada State Assembly introduced a bill, AB218, that would, for the first time, tax bottled water. That’s right, bottled water. Yesterday [March 3], the Senate took up SB192, a proposal that could increase taxes to help fund transportation projects. SB192 had been scheduled for a vote yesterday but, thankfully, was pulled from the floor. It will be back, however.
SB192 forces Clark and Washoe counties to allocate additional money for transportation projects and allows them to increase their bonding capacity to recover this revenue. Which means it allows them to collect higher taxes to cover these added costs.
For some reason, bottled water has become one of the enemies of the statists, right there next to SUV’s. Similar proposals to tax it have been introduced across the country. When they set their targets on something they go after it. The first step is always to impose some kind of tax, then to continually increase the tax, then to restrict its use.
The economy of Nevada continues to struggle. The sluggish recovery in most of the rest of the nation has yet to be felt in the Silver State. Jobseekers find few prospects. In addition, fuel costs are rising and groceries bills are experiencing a jump. So along comes a group of our illustrious elected officials to add additional levies on top of those bills.
Leave it to our Legislature to toss an anchor to underwater homeowners and an anvil to those families struggling to hang on to the side of the economic cliff. Increased taxes are the last thing this economy needs but the first thing many of our elected officials want.
(Michael Chamberlain is Executive Director of Nevada Business Coalition.)
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