NEVADA NEWS & VIEWS 06/07/2015

Nevada GOP blisters "deplorable" tax-hiking Republicans

(Nevada Republican Party) – As the 78th Session of the Nevada Legislature ends, the Nevada Republican Party is extremely disappointed that SB483, the largest tax increase in Nevada history, was passed by the Assembly in a 30-10 vote, ratified by the Senate in a 18-3 vote and is headed to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law.

Even more disappointing is that this deplorable development was only possible with the help of several Republican legislators who voted in opposition to the platform of their own party and against the will of Nevada voters, who overwhelmingly rejected tax increases at the ballot box last November. 

These legislators had been presented numerous options for reducing spending from various sources, including the Wheeler-Knecht ‘Balanced Plan for Growth’ proposal. This plan was endorsed by the Nevada Republican Party in March, and would have allowed increased funding for education without raising taxes.

Despite Nevada voters overwhelmingly rejecting a proposed Gross Margin Tax proposal at the polls last November, with nearly 80% of the voting public voting against the tax, many similar provisions to the Gross Margin Tax were included in SB483, thinly disguised as a “Commerce Tax”. 

Nevadans were also reminded of the duplicity of the political class, as the “temporary” taxes which were enacted in 2009, and which have already been extended twice, were made permanent in law as part of SB483.

As Milton Friedman famously said, “There is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program”, and voters would do well to remember that government never enacts “temporary” taxes, regardless of what they say to get the votes.

Nevada GOP Vice Chairman Jim DeGraffenreid today stated, “Nevada voters elected a Republican majority to both the Assembly and Senate with a mandate to ensure that the message of fiscal responsibility was carried forward to the legislative session. 

"Unfortunately, some of those Republican legislators who rode the ‘red wave’ into office failed to heed that mandate, and Nevada citizens will now pay the price for their lack of principles and leadership”

Nevada GOP Nominations Committee Chairman Rob Tyree later added, “Since the passage of SB483, many voters have said that they will no longer support the Republican Party, nor vote for Republican candidates, because they feel betrayed by those who claimed to support Republican principles but then voted against those ideals. 

The Nevada Republican Party would like to remind these voters that the Candidates endorsed by the party did a great job of supporting Republican principles overall. By supporting the Republican Party and continuing to expand our vetting and endorsement process, we can counter those candidates who put an R behind their name just to help win an election but who do not respect the Republican platform.”

Although their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, the Nevada Republican Party would like to sincerely thank the Republican legislators in the Nevada Assembly and Senate who stood firm in supporting the will of Nevada citizens and the Nevada Republican Party Platform by voting against SB483. Those legislators deserve support for honoring the will of their constituents in the face of tremendous pressure to do otherwise.

The legislators who voted to protect Nevada taxpayers and honor their commitment to Republican principles of limited government and fiscal responsibility are:

Assembly:

Jill Dickman *

Chris Edwards *

John Ellison *

Michele Fiore *

Ira Hansen *

Brent Jones *

Victoria Seaman *

Shelly Shelton *

Robin Titus *

Jim Wheeler *

Senate:

Pete Goicoechea

Don Gustavson *

James Settelmeyer *

The Nevada GOP would also like to note its support for Assembly members Vicki Dooling* and John Moore, who have been ardent opponents of this tax increase but were regrettably not in attendance for the actual vote. 

Nevada Republicans are invited to join the party in supporting all of the above legislators for re-election, and to help us recruit and elect more Republicans who will do the right thing for all Nevadans.

(* Participated in Nevada Republican Party candidate vetting and endorsement process and received a recommendation for endorsement from the Nevada GOP Nominations Committee.)