A coalition has formed in opposition to the Margin Tax Initiative that is on the ballot for Nevada in 2014. The group initially started with organizations around the state that represent thousands of small and large employers, ranchers and farmers, as well as other concerned residents in Nevada.
The Coalition seeks to inform voters about why the Margin Tax Initiative is flawed, and will have a costly tax increase.
In a press release from The Coalition to Defeat the Margin Tax Initiative, it states, “This initiative would damage Nevada’s economy, result in the loss of many existing businesses and jobs, and hurt our state’s ability to compete for new businesses and jobs by making Nevada’s tax burden on businesses one of the highest in the country.”
The release provided background for the Margin Tax Initiative, stating that the proposal for the tax increase, if passed in the 2014 Nevada General Election, would tax every business with an annual total gross revenue exceeding $1 million, despite whether or not the tax is higher than their profit, if any profit is made at all.
Compared to other business taxes, the Marginal Tax Initiative would not allow a business to deduct all its expenses, only those calculated in the intricate formulas provided by the initiative. The effects would extend to thousands of small businesses around the state, such as grocery stores, restaurants, dairy farmers, medical clinics and other services provided.
It also stated that the initiative would give Nevada businesses an even higher business tax burden than California, and would be one of the five highest business tax burdens in the country, calling it a “job-killing measure,” that would damage a still-recovering economy, and hinder businesses, employers and families across the state.
Dubbed the “Education Initiative,” it seeks to fund the k-12 education system distributing proceeds to the Nevada’s Distributive School Account (DSA). However, the proposition does not readily guarantee extra money for Nevada’s education, as the state legislature would have access to take funds from the account to fund other things. If moneys do end up funding education, there is no accountability yet set for how school districts would spend the money.
Feb. 25, the Nevada Farm Bureau joined the Coalition to Defeat the Margin Tax Initiative, with strong opposition to the new two-percent gross business tax.
“Nevada Farm Bureau has joined this coalition because our member-developed grassroots policy opposes a gross business tax,” said Nevada Farm Bureau President Hank Combs. “The Margin Tax Initiative is a giant tax increase that would hurt all businesses in Nevada, especially farms and ranches.”
To learn more about Coalition to Defeat the Margin Tax Initiative or to gain information about the Margin Tax Initiative please visit www.stopthemargintax.com. Information for the Nevada Farm Bureau can be found at www.nvfb.org.
