MUTH'S TRUTHS 01/18/2015

AX THE GRUBER TAX! Gov. Brian Sandoval (R&R-Advertising) has really screwed a number of GOP members in the state Assembly with his billion dollar “Gruber Tax” proposal (named after Jonathan Gruber who was caught on tape admitting that deceiving the public about ObamaCare was the only way to get it passed) that he dropped on them Thursday night.  And if those Assembly members take seriously the notion that their word is their bond (and iffy proposition at best when it comes to politicians), then the proposal – making the “sunsets” permanent plus a new gross receipts tax - should be DOA (dead on arrival) in the lower house.  Here’s why… First, let’s all once again look skyward and thank former conservative Gov. Jim Gibbons, who back in the 1990s led the fight to pass Nevada’s tax restraint law which requires a 2/3 super-majority vote of the people for the Legislature to pass any tax hikes. That means it will only take 15 principled, fiscally conservative Republicans – The Lean 15 Rides Again! - to block the Gruber Tax. And here’s the math… There are 8 conservative members of the Assembly who have signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and will honor it.  Those Assembly members are Michele Fiore, Jim Wheeler, Jill Dickman, Victoria Seaman, Brent Jones, Vicky Dooling, Shelly Shelton and Dr. Robin Titus. There are 3 other conservative members of the Assembly who have not signed the Tax Pledge but who are solidly opposed to the Gruber Tax: Assemblymen John Ellison, John Moore and David Gardner.  That makes 11. While Assemblyman Ira Hansen has voted to extend the “sunsets” in the past, I’m hearing he thinks voting that way in the last session was a mistake and is unlikely to vote to do so again.  And considering what Sandoval’s hired political assassins did to him after he was elected Speaker-designate in December, I gotta hope he’ll be solidly with us and against the Gruber Tax. That would make 12.  So taxpayers need three more… Assembly Speaker-of-the-Weak John Hambrick also has signed the Tax Pledge; however, he’s also “pulled a Roberson” and has since said he only plans to honor his Tax Pledge “by and large.” SIDENOTE: Now that the governor’s tax hike has been officially announced, a meeting of the Recall Hambrick PAC is scheduled for next week.  If you’d like to be part of the effort to recall Hambrick before the end of the session and BEFORE he has a chance to break his Pledge, shoot me an email and I’ll let you know when and where the meeting will take place. While it’s doubtful as long as he remains in leadership, it’s still possible that Hambrick’s conscience will meet up with his cojones, especially considering this quote from an interview he did with the Las Vegas Review-Journal in just this last election… “I voted three times against continuing the sunset tax. When the ‘sunset’ was first passed the whole idea was to allow additional revenue for a specific time period.  That time has longed passed.” Will Hambrick honor both his Tax Pledge and his word to the RJ?  I know it’s a longshot, but perhaps he’ll rediscover his “inner Reagan.”  It’s not too late to do the right thing.  If so, that would be 13 down, two to go. And again, if their word means anything to them whatsoever, the following Assembly Republicans should provide MORE than enough votes to kill the Gruber Tax.  Consider these quotes from campaign season… Assemblyman Chris Edwards: “During each of the legislative sessions throughout the Great Recession, the Nevada Legislature has looked for ways to increase taxes… This is the wrong approach.” Assemblyman Erv Nelson: “I am against raising property taxes or renewing taxes which have sunsetted.  Government should operate within its proper, limited scope and live within its current budgetary and tax scheme.” Assemblyman P.K. O’Neill: “I believe that we need to remove ourselves from these ‘Sunset’ taxes, as originally intended, particularly as the economy continues to recover.” Assemblyman Derek Armstrong: “I oppose all three of these tax increases (margins, mining and ‘sunset’ tax extension) because each will have a negative impact on jobs and the state’s economy. The way to increase revenues is by increasing economic growth and making all of our citizens wealthier, not by raising taxes.” Assemblyman Stephen Silberkraus: “Instead of always looking to raise taxes we must work on growing our economy…” Assemblywoman Melissa Woodbury: “There are too many legislators that want to continue with the same old tax-and-spend policies.  If Nevada’s residents are being forced to cut back and spend their money wisely, then the government should do the same.” Now, unless these folks misled voters in their elections and have no intention of keeping their campaign promises, that should be a minimum of 19 votes against Sandoval’s Gruber Tax. So the question is… Will Assembly members Edwards, Nelson, O’Neill, Armstrong, Silberkraus and Woodbury keep their word and tell us taxpayers RIGHT NOW – not next May – that they are opposed to the governor’s plan to make the sunsets permanent and impose a new gross receipts tax on Nevada’s mom-and-pop businesses? Why don’t you ask them?  Here, let me be Mr. Helpful… Chris.Edwards@asm.state.nv.us Erven.Nelson@asm.state.nv.us PK.Oneill@asm.state.nv.us Derek.Armstrong@asm.state.nv.us Stephen.Silberkraus@asm.state.nv.us Melissa.Woodbury@asm.state.nv.us And don’t let them get away with weaseling off the hook with crud such as, “Well, we have to wait and see the details.” No they don’t.  Here are the details...and everyone already knows them: The governor wants to make the sunsets permanent, a tax hike in the neighborhood of $640 million The governor wants to slap a new gross receipts tax/fee on Nevada’s businesses, a tax hike to the tune of some $440 million That’s a tax hike of over ONE BILLION DOLLARS! What other “details” does anyone claiming to be a fiscal conservative need to see, huh? It’s time for these folks to stand and be counted. And by the way, if the Gruber Tax goes down, the governor will have no one to blame but his high-priced consultants who told him to hide the plan until after the election.  Had Sandoval announced his plan a year ago and campaigned on it, maybe some of the Assembly members listed above wouldn’t have committed to opposing the tax hikes in their own campaigns.  But now, unless they break their word, they’re already committed to opposing them. Seriously, the governor’s handlers have SO botched this by assuming tax-hiking Democrats would still be in the majority this session.  Instead, members of the governor’s own party are now being asked to choose between honoring their word…or walking the plank for a (lame-duck!) governor and voting for a $1 billion tax hike.  Some choice! Heckuva job, Slanker. P.S.  If you’re not sure whose district you live in, click here and enter your address in the “search” box. 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