Horsford plan would create panel to revamp tax structure

Horsford, D-Las Vegas, hopes to create a “Nevada Stabilization and Advancement Commission” to study and formulate a broad-based tax on businesses that the 2011 Legislature could vote to implement.

In the short term, Horsford said, legislators have come up with increases in existing taxes in order to raise the revenue to fund their proposed budget. But “it’s time for us to address a broad based solution for this state, to fix our revenue structure once and for all,” he said.

Horsford voiced the view, common among those who work with the state budget, that Nevada finds itself perennially in fiscal crisis because the state depends heavily on narrow sources of revenue — principally sales and gaming taxes — while letting some of the state’s biggest businesses off the hook when it comes to contributing to education and other government services.

The commission, he said, would identify potential forms of broad-based business taxes, such as a net profits tax, corporate income tax or business transaction tax; survey best practices from other jurisdictions; and design a total framework for implementation, from regulations and exemptions to software and tax forms.

“This is more than a study,” he said. “This is the concrete implementation process for funding our state.”

Because the current budget relies heavily on one-time sources of funding, such as federal stimulus dollars, legislators are likely to face yet another massive shortfall in 2011. Horsford said one estimate has put it at $1.4 billion, though it will depend on economic conditions.

“I know, based on listening to constituents, they want leaders who will confront these challenges head-on, who can formulate a vision of what we want Nevada to be,” he said.

The commission bill, Senate Bill 432, is a supplement to the deal on taxes and public employee benefits that legislators have been negotiating.

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919