Taxes

CARSON CITY – A delay in federal payments to Nevada’s counties is not anticipated to cause any financial problems for the cash-strapped local governments, officials said in interviews last week.

I was gone for part of last week, and I missed that the new Michael Hohl Honda and Subaru auto dealerships on South Carson opened up on Monday. Looks like the Nevada Appeal missed it as well, at least as far as their website is concerned. Hopefully the addition will add some new sales tax revenue to Carson City's coffers.

CARSON CITY – The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) today announced that disbursement of FY 2010 Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funds will be delayed until July. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., issued a release announcing the delay to Nevadans.
Historically, local governments receive PILT funds in June. Most county budgets are drafted with the expectation that funds will be distributed by the DOI under the standard distribution calendar. Local governments were not notified of the changes until today.

CARSON CITY – The Republican Assembly Caucus has elected Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea as its new minority leader, replacing the retiring Assemblywoman Heidi Gansert.
Goicoechea, R-Eureka, was the unanimous choice of the 14-member caucus.
Gansert, R-Reno, is not running for re-election to the Assembly.

CARSON CITY – One proposal sought to increase mining taxes and another wanted to define life as beginning at conception. A third would have required secret ballots for employee votes on whether to join a union and yet another would have given Nevada residents the right to reject participation in government backed health care.

Ok, so we know who won. But did yesterday's vote tell us anything?

I wrote earlier about how the outcome of the supervisors races could give us a clue on how the public views the Nugget Project, AKA the Carson City Center Project.

Karen Abowd, the only candidate to openly support the project, did come in first in her primary with 31 percent of the vote in a six-way race.

CARSON CITY – In the fight for control of the Republican Party in the state Senate in the Tuesday primary it was an even split, with conservative candidates taking two of four contested seats and two others going to more moderate candidates backed by Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio.

CARSON CITY – GOP U.S. Senate candidate Sue Lowden said today she is “very encouraged� by the exit polling results her campaign has seen from early voting as primary election day draws near.

CARSON CITY – While voters and political observers are focused on the Tuesday primary, Nevadans seeking access to the November ballot for measures they are pushing to amend the state Constitution have another key date in mind.
June 15 is the deadline for groups pushing their amendments to turn in the nearly 100,000 signatures they need to qualify the measures for the ballot. There are three initiative petitions to amend the state constitution still active, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons said today the political pundits and pollsters may be in for a surprise when the votes are counted in the GOP governor’s race on primary election day June 8.

CARSON CITY – A proposal to simplify, broaden and stabilize Nevada’s tax base by expanding and reducing the sales tax to include services from haircuts to legal advice is generating some support and plenty of questions from lawmakers and interest groups.

A ground-breaking celebration was held this morning to mark the beginning of one of the truly bright spots in Carson City's otherwise ailing construction economy.
Building will begin June 14 on a $3.6 million, 42-unit senior apartment complex in Carson City, designed to help close the gap in a shortage of affordable retirement housing here.

We have some good news to share in these not-so-good economic times, especially when it comes to development and housing.
Construction will begin soon on a $3.6 million, 42-unit senior apartment complex in Carson City that will help to close the gap in a shortage of affordable retirement housing here.

by Scott Schrantz Source: http://aroundcarson.com/2010/05/26/train_rides_this_weekend

Part 2 of a Series on Key GOP State Senate Primary Races
CARSON CITY – While Republican voters have a rare chance to chart the course of the GOP Senate caucus in the upcoming primary, the candidates described by some political observers as the establishment choice say they too are true fiscal conservatives who believe in core party values.

Tensions quickly arose during a discussion on the economic effects of illegal immigration at a town hall forum in Reno yesterday.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, said that immigration – both legal and illegal – creates a “fiscal drain� on public services that is significantly larger than the “miniscule� effect that they have on the per capita income of the nation.

Part 1 of 2 on Five Key State Senate Races
CARSON CITY – Over the past several legislative sessions the state Senate Republican caucus has shown a willingness to work across the aisle with Democrats, with some GOP lawmakers voting more than once for tax increases as a way to balance the budget.

CARSON CITY – A member of the citizen’s panel appointed by lawmakers to chart Nevada’s future for the next 20 years expressed concern today about whether the process to be followed to complete the effort conforms to meet the requirements of the state Open Meeting Law.

In the waning hours of the special session this past February, legislators hurriedly introduced and passed Senate Bill 5, a bill intended, among other things, to remove the sunset on part of a half-percent sales tax passed in 2003.

Legislators this week voiced objections to the passage of Senate Bill 5 during the 2010 special session, which lifted the sunset on a temporary sales tax increase that was passed by voters in 2002.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Jim Gibbons announced yesterday he is pursuing an initiative petition to subject labor negotiations between unions and local government entities to the open meeting law to give taxpayers access to the discussions.
Some Republican lawmakers welcomed the idea, saying the Democrat-controlled Legislature has been unwilling to consider such a proposal.

CARSON CITY — Nevada Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley spoke today about a number of issues concerning both Nevada and the nation, including immigration reform and Nevada’s projected budget shortfall.

With the current state of the economy, businesses need to focus on being more efficient. Outsourcing is an extremely effective way to get things done without the added expense of hiring an employee, paying taxes, insurance, workers compensation, as well as the cost of computers, computer repairs, supplies, downtime, and the list goes on. Time Saving Solutions, LLC is a local small business that is designed to aide other businesses and their employees by running day to day tasks, making more time for business owners and key employees to use their time more effectively.

RENO – Half a dozen candidates in the crowded GOP field seeking to take on Harry Reid in the U.S. Senate race in November debated here Friday, with responses showing more agreement than discord on issues ranging from immigration reform to the need to reduce the size of the federal government.

RENO – The three Republican candidates vying to become the next governor of Nevada engaged in a spirited discussion Friday on issues ranging from taxes and public education to the future of Yucca Mountain.

CARSON CITY – Two of the four Republican candidates seeking to replace Sen. Randolph Townsend in state Senate District 4 in Washoe County attacked one another’s records in a debate televised today on the Nevada NewsMakers program.
Assemblyman Ty Cobb said one of his opponents, Ben Kieckhefer, has called for “revenue enhancements” which Cobb said is support for a tax increase. Kieckhefer denied the charge.

The Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents decided to not consider Regent Mark Alden’s proposal to reduce the salaries of university staff during its meeting last week. Instead, the board focused on increasing student fees and cutting programs.

CARSON CITY – One of the major backers of a proposed 2008 measure aimed at raising the bar on tax increases said today a court ruling upholding the right of Tea Party of Nevada candidate Scott Ashjian to remain on the ballot shows the need for more clarity in state election law.

A crowd of about 600 people gathered around the courtyard surrounding the Nevada State Capitol for the tea party rally. Many held signs condemning big-government policies, calling for Senator Harry Reid’s defeat, protesting tax increases, and ridiculing President Barack Obama.

With veiled threats to the governors of Nevada and several other states last month by a far-right militia group, the amount of anti-government fervor may be boiling over nationally, but all is peaceful today in Carson City as more than a thousand have gathered at the Capitol to protest President Barack Obama, Sen. Harry Reid and health care.

Oh, and taxes. But there were far more anti-Obama and Harry Reid signs and a few Hitler ones than anything remotely about the IRS, today being the filing deadline for federal income taxes.