Taxes
NPRI’s Second Annual ‘Overlooked Awards’
Later this month Project Censored, a left-wing media group, will reveal the ten stories it believes were "censored" by the nation’s mainstream press in 1998. The Nevada Policy Research Institute offered its first list of the stories the Silver State’s media ignore last year. Herewith, NPRI’s Second Annual Overlooked Awards. The following are not censored stories but rather topics which got little (or flawed) press coverage in 1998, due to reporters’ laziness and/or lack of understanding—not to mention the well-funded snow jobs often orchestrated by special interests in Nevada.
Smoke, Mirrors and Economic Reality
What industries beyond the service sector will offer Nevada the diversification it needs to ensure economic prosperity? Improving education, reforming tax structures and articulating clear economic goals have been low priorities for state and local governments. Too often smoke and mirrors are substituted for addressing the very stumbling blocks and economic challenges impeding such desirable goals. Do Nevadans have the political will to drive a stake through the heart of counterproductive policies which discourage economic diversification?
The Most Regressive Tax in Nevada
Residents of Southern Nevada await Clark County Commissioners’ inevitable imposition of the quarter-cent sales tax increase, a hike voters overwhelmingly approved earlier this month. In Northern Nevada, Washoe County Commissioners gave initial approval to the quarter-cent increase on November 17. Since 1997, when legislators passed a bill which allowed commissioners to raise their counties’ sales tax rates, debates have raged over the need for additional revenue to fund infrastructure projects in Las Vegas and Reno. But these battles have missed a more significant point: Residents of Nevada already face one of the highest sales tax burdens in the country. This burden is particularly onerous for low-income workers and families. A tax on sales is inherently regressive, since its rate remains the same for all, regardless of income. Herewith, a look at why Nevada’s sales tax is harmful to less affluent citizens—and detrimental to the Silver State’s economic health as well.
Nevada’s Most-Overlooked Stories
Last month "Project Censored," an annual public relations stunt by the far left, revealed its list of the top censored stories of 1997. The list is comprised of trendy liberal topics that are largely overlooked by the mainstream press. The list’s name is disingenuous—the stories are not "censored" at all, but regularly see print in ultra-leftist publications such as The Nation and Mother Jones. The Reno News & Review compiled its own list covering subjects within the state, including "overpopulation" in Washoe Valley and Nevada’s "rule by the rich." NPRI has a somewhat different take on the types of stories to which Nevada’s media turns a blind eye. Herewith, NPRI’s list of the most-overlooked stories of the last 12 months.
What Fuels Nevada's High Gas Prices
Nevadans constantly complain—and rightfully so—about the high price of gasoline in the Silver State. Although prices have declined in recent months, gas in Nevada costs significantly higher than in other states, including nearby California. Many critics, such as the editors of the Las Vegas Sun, allege the state is being "gouged by an industry that allows only token competition." Such claims remain to be proven, but one fact in the discussion regarding gas prices cannot be disputed: the majority of Nevada’s drivers pay a whopping 52.05 cents per gallon in federal, state, and county taxes. Herewith, an examination of Nevada’s gas tax structure.
Is Nevada really a high-tax state?
Debate over taxes in the 1997 Nevada Legislature brought forth the claim once again that the "per capita tax burden" in Nevada is unusually high by national standards, but is this true? In response to many inquiries, here are the facts.
The Instruction Gap
A Ten Year Study of Education Spending in Nevada
On January 2, 1995, Nevada Policy Research Institute released a ten year statistical study on how education funds were spent. The study, two years in the making, revealed a major shift from instruction to administration, teacher's benefits, and loan interest payments creating an education gap of over $80,000,000 since 1982.
Who Pays?
The Burden of Environmental Cleanup and Pollution Control
Creating a clean environment for ourselves and for future generations is an important and desirable goal. Achieving this goal will involve cleaning up sites which were polluted knowingly or unknowingly by past industrial and waste disposal activities, and ensuring that current and future activities are done in an environmentally responsible manner which minimizes adverse impacts to the environment.
Nevada's Fiscal Crisis
Where Did All The Money Go?
Nevada's current budgetary crisis consists of $170 Million in revenue shortfall.
Nevada lacks a unified budgeting and accounting system which would allow its citizens to take a comprehensive look at the state's finances. It is difficult for experts, let alone the typical voter, to figure out how much money we really have and where it goes.
