USA Today: Nevada Gearing Up for Court Fight Over Gambling Tax Hike
USA Today reported on Monday that a petition drive to raise taxes on Nevada’s biggest casinos has been met with strong opposition by the gaming lobby via a lawsuit filed in Carson District Court.
Advocates of the planned hike claim that raising taxes on these casinos will help ease the burden on individuals and small businesses in the state.
Nevada’s gross gaming revenue tax was enacted in 1945 but has only been raised once in the past 23 years by a mere half point in 2003.
From USA Today:
If enough signatures are gathered by November, the initiative, launched last month by Las Vegas-based Nevadans For a Fair 9% Gambling Revenue Tax, would go before the 2013 Legislature. If lawmakers reject it or fail to act, the issue would go to voters in 2014.
"Nevada's individuals and small businesses are overtaxed," Monte Miller, a Las Vegas businessman who is spearheading the initiative, said when the petition was filed Feb. 7 in the Secretary of State's Office. "By fairly taxing the billions of dollars that big casinos win from high-rolling gamblers, we can lower taxes and fees on individuals and small businesses who are struggling during these tough economic times."
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
