MUTH’S TRUTHS

The following letter was hand-delivered to the governor’s office today urging him to veto any legislative effort to put a tax hike on next year’s ballot…

Governor Jim Gibbons
State Capitol
101 N. Carson Street
Carson City, NV 89701

Dear Gov. Gibbons,

As you know, there is an effort growing in the Legislature to put a tax increase on the ballot for the purpose of raising new revenue for highway construction. The Associated Press quotes you as responding to this effort as follows:

“I always said the public runs this state. They elected me because I oppose tax and fee increases. If the public wants to implement a tax on themselves, that is up to the voting public. A vote of the public will supersede a governor’s reluctance to raise taxes.”

Generally speaking, I would tend to agree with you on this; however, the mechanism by which “the public” reaches the point of voting to tax themselves is of concern. I’d like to bring two points to your attention in this regard.

The first is a reminder that in 2003 the Legislature passed the largest tax increase in the state’s history. A number of people, myself included, called on that tax hike to be subjected to a confirmation vote of the public. The Legislature, in its wisdom at the time, determined, however, that the public should not be provided an opportunity to vote “yes” or “no” on taxing themselves.

I find it particularly hypocritical now that some of the same legislators who didn’t think the public should get an opportunity to vote on the largest tax increase in Nevada’s history are now clamoring for a bill to give the same public an opportunity to vote on yet another new tax increase just four short years later.

Secondly, back in the 2005 session, state Sen. Bob Beers attempted to pass a spending control measure through the Legislature based on a similar law in Colorado called TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights). To the best of my knowledge, his bill was killed in committee and never came to the floor for a vote.

Therefore, Sen. Beers took his case directly to the public by filing a citizen initiative titled “Tax and Spending Control” (TASC) with the Secretary of State and proceeded to collect the required number of citizen signatures on a petition in order to place this issue on the 2006 ballot and give the public an opportunity to vote “yes” or “no.”

The point is that if some legislators today wish to raise taxes for whatever purpose, those same legislators should be required to go through the exact same public initiative process Sen. Beers went through in order to put such a measure on the ballot in 2008. If the public truly wants to “implement a tax on themselves,” it should be no problem for them to collect the requisite signatures for such a ballot initiative.

In the interest of fairness, efforts to raise our taxes should be no easier to accomplish than efforts to control spending. And make no mistake, a legislative effort to place a tax increase on the 2008 ballot is unquestionably an effort to raise taxes. Which brings me to the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

As you’ll recall, I was the individual who proudly witnessed your signing of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge at the Nevada Republican Party convention in Mesquite last spring. So I wanted to personally take this opportunity to remind you of your promise to “oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes,” which a legislatively initiated ballot measure would certainly be.

If a true citizen initiative is launched by the public to put a tax hike on the ballot next year, that would be one thing. However, should such an effort come through the Legislature rather than through the citizen initiative process, I would urge you to honor your Pledge and veto any such bill. I also urge you to make your position on this matter clear to the Legislature immediately so as to nip this legislative tax hike effort in the bud.

Thank you for you consideration in this matter.

Conservatively yours,

Chuck Muth
Citizen Outreach PAC

Posted on February 15th, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Nevada