AB 336: Measly 4.5% Corporate Business Tax should be a no-brainer
Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 15:09 According to freshman Nevada Assemblywoman Teresa Benitez-Thompson, D-Reno, a bill calling for a mere 4.5 percent tax on companies that make a profit of $500,000 or more a year would enact a lower tax rate than that of surrounding states. She’s talking about Assemblywoman Peggy Pierce’s AB 336.
Of course the ‘other side’ ( Assemblyman Pete Livermore, R-Carson City ) was quick to point out that any sort of leftysocialistantibusiness tax on business will kill an economic recovery and jobs, jobs, jobs! What they never follow this up with are any facts or figures to support how not having a corporate business tax in Nevada hasn’t managed to diversify or strengthen the Nevada economy up till now - thus avoiding the horrible fiscal mess we currently find ourselves in.
It might also be prudent to note that even if Nevada were to impose a modest corporate income tax, given the number of convenient loopholes afforded the huge foreign mining companies operating in Nevada, they’ll have more than enough lobbying and Jones Vargas type tax attorney means to whittle their net down to that magic $500,000 and waltz right out of paying a damn dime.
As with mining, it’s not the measly 5% tax rate in the Nevada Constitution that mining cares about - it’s those priceless deductions that enable them to pay zero … nada … zip … nothing. And so with any other business enterprise worth it’s Jones Vargas attorneys.
You might want to get angry if you are a business that can’t afford lobbyists and fancy attorneys.
This is a given. So let’s pass the tax. Small business probably won’t be the worse for it, and if, by chance, they end up having to pay some pittance, then the state won’t be in quite so much of a quagmire.
-maven
By the way, Assemblyman Pete Livermore, R-Carson City failed the Project Vote Smart political courage test for 2010. He sorta kinda didn’t want to answer queries on any substantive issues. Here are the Contributions and Expenses reports filed with the Nevada Secretary of State’s office for Mr. Livermore. He got plenty from the Chamber of Commerce.
Unfortunately, Benitez-Thompson also failed the Project Vote Smart political courage test for 2010. Shame. Her C&E filings are shown here.
