Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform, issued the following statement yesterday afternoon after repeated requests to speak with Gov. Gibbons were blown off by the governor’s office…
NV Gov. Jim Gibbons Breaks Taxpayer Protection Pledge
Governor’s Executive Budget Includes 3 Percent Room Tax HikeWASHINGTON D.C. – Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons recently unveiled his executive budget for the 2009-2011 biennium. Included in the Governor’s budget is a 3 percent increase in the state lodging tax, also known as the room tax.
Total state outlays are cut by less than one percent in Gibbons’ budget; yet general fund revenue appropriations represent a $340 million increase from the previous biennium. The executive budget also appropriates $80 million from Clark and Washoe Counties over the next budget cycle. Critics contend that this provision poaches tax revenue from other levels of government in order to prop up state spending levels and could lead to tax increases for residents of both counties.
“The room tax hike is a blatant violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge that Gov. Gibbons’ signed as a candidate.” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “The Governor and his staff have repeatedly and falsely asserted that it is not a violation of the Pledge if the taxed industry agrees to the hike. The Pledge is a simple one page document that includes no such loopholes or technicalities.”
Gibbons has also claimed that he is not breaking his Pledge in raising the room tax since it was approved by Nevada voters last year. In fact, it was not approved by Nevada voters. The teachers’ union put the room tax increase on the ballot in only three counties in the entire state last November and was only on as an advisory question. Advisory questions, if approved, do not result in implementation but simply require the legislature to take up the issue in the next legislative session.
“Make no mistake, the Governor’s Pledge is a written promise to the citizens of Nevada, not any one organization or person, and the Governor has broken his promise to all Nevadans,” added Norquist. “Gov. Gibbons’ proposed budget is a slap in the face to taxpayers and all Nevada voters that supported him under that auspices that he was the candidate that would oppose any and all efforts to raise taxes.”
Posted on February 5th, 2009 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: National, Nevada
Chuck: First let me apologize for using this forum to respond to your piece in the LV Business Press. I just wanted to pass along some facts to you concerning the Nevada legislature in reply to your impatience that Ms. Buckley et al. have not put forward a plan in response to Budget proposed by Governor gibbon [sic].
First, the Constitution of this State provides the legislature with neither any right to act other than while in session and no right to call itself into special session. Therefore, no work to design a plan was possible until this Monday when the current session began.
More importantly, unlike the legislative bodies in most states, our legislators have NO STAFF with which to do any work in preparation for a session. Oh yes they do have access to LCB, a body which is overworked and not equipped to analyze and propose alternatives to the Governors Budget.
I would much prefer that you speak honestly and directly to your readers, rather than participate in this kind of Kabuki choreography. What you really mean is that you are against all taxes and like Grover Norquist and his ilk, you wish to shrink government to the size where you can drown it in the bathtub. Be up front that you don’t care about being forthcoming when it comes to how you will describe the actions of any politician that takes a different view regardless of how responsible they may be, how well meaning their course of action or how limited their power to take meaningful action against a governor who is best described by reference to the title of the Paul Simon movie and song.
But we do agree on one thing, the proposed budget is a slap in the face to all Nevadans, well at least those that truly understand the role of government.
What a load of disingenuous crap. Buckley and Horsford have been putting out press releases and statements slamming the governor’s budget to the public on a regular basis. There is nothing - NOTHING - in the Constitution to prevent them from issuing statements and press releases outlining their alternative proposal.
As for LCB, it has a multi-million budget and has very little to do when the Legislature is not in session. In other words, all of last year.
As for Grover wanting to shrink non-essential government programs to the point where you can drown them in the bathtub, I agree. Always have. Where have you been? This is no secret. I’ve been upfront and writing this for over a dozen years now. Get with the program.
It’s not surprising that the Dems favor additional taxes. Considering the records of some cabinet level nominees in the BHO administration, Dems favor additional taxes because they don’t pay them anyway.
Hey Milty, I forgot, who won again?
jason: Last month, Barry told a Republican senator, “I won.” Hope the memory lapse isn’t part of a trend for you. I really don’t want to read a quote from George Clooney to the effect that “jason announced again today that he is suffering from Alzheimer’s.”
Are you saying that winning an election excuses non-payment of taxes?
Any chance you can give the odds on Gibbons running against Harry Reid in 2010? Or running for reelection for governor in 2010? Or running for…anything…ever again?
NV Dem: Gibbons may not be around to run for anything in 2010.
March 15 is approaching. I can see Big Jim standing on the front steps of the capitol with all the tax and spend Republicans around, and they suddenly all stab him, then Jim says, “Et tu, Raggio?” Only problem with this scenario is that Raggio will probably be the first one, not the last one, to stick his dagger into Jim.