Why we have to kill the margins tax

(Assemblywoman Michele Fiore) – More than 20 years ago I decided to make Las Vegas my home. This is where I raised my two daughters and where they are raising their children. With four grandchildren educating our future generations is very important to me; however, it’s equally important to me that we preserve our quality of life so our future generations also choose to call Nevada home.

For these reasons, and many more, I urge you to oppose the margin tax that will be on the ballot in November.

The margin tax will be on the ballot because the teachers union collected enough signatures, but that doesn’t mean the teachers union did their due diligence to prevent unintended consequences from the tax they are proposing.

One of my areas of concern with this initiative is that there is no requirement for the Legislature to leave the existing K-12 budget intact. By adding the estimated $800 million in new taxes each year for education, it is going to place a target on the existing $2 billion we already spend on education for legislator’s pet projects and special interests that would like to see more money in other programs.

My second biggest concern is that it will harm Nevada businesses and hurt our recovery.

This initiative does not draw a realistic line between local “mom and pop” businesses and big corporations. While $1 million sounds like a lot, if the place you work has more than 10 employees making a livable wage, that business is probably bringing in more than $1 million in gross income.

Once that business pays salaries and purchases inventory, the business may or may not be making any money but would still have to pay this tax. When the business owner has to pay this tax, even if the company doesn’t make any money, it may be your job that has to be cut to make up the difference.

Lots of people ask me what they can do to stop this job killing tax increase.

We have to spread the word that this tax will not generate more money for education. This tax will hurt our local businesses, causing them to cut jobs. We need to tell our friends and our families that Nevadans cannot afford this tax so the teachers union can take raises. We all need to live within our means, especially now, and the teachers union is no different.

Each and every one of us is going to have to stand up against the margin tax initiative to defeat it in November.

(Ms. Fiore represents the 4th Assembly District in Las Vegas, Nevada)