Poll shows Nevadans prefer tax increase over budget cuts

CARSON CITY -- Most Nevadans disagree with Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval's plan to avoid tax increases in large part by cutting education and social service programs, a new poll shows.

Respondents also say they trust Sandoval more than they trust legislative leaders who oppose his budget when it comes to understanding the plight of everyday Nevadans.

The mixed sentiments were evident in results of the statewide poll released Tuesday that surveyed Nevada voters on taxes, politics and the state of the economy.

The poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies for the Retail Association of Nevada, showed that when given a choice between a tax increase and cuts to education and health care, 52 percent of respondents chose more taxes and 37 percent favored cuts.

When asked questions about trust, 53 percent said Sandoval "understands the problems facing people like yourself" compared with 31 percent who said the same about the Legislature.

The results suggest that one week into the 120-day legislative session, Democrats are making progress selling their opposition to the governor's proposed budget cuts but remain far less popular messengers than Sandoval.

"The Democrats having control of both houses have certainly done more to advance their narrative that the state cannot go forward with the cuts proposed," said Robert Uithoven, a Republican lobbyist and political strategist from Reno. "Aside from the State of the State speech, you haven't really seen the governor use his tremendous power of the bully pulpit."

Ronni Council, a Democratic political consultant from Las Vegas, said the poll shows Democrats are tapped into the public sentiment and can succeed if individual legislators put faces to their side of the argument.

"It is up to the individual legislators to put their face in front of constituents," Council said. "People aren't going to change their mind about the message. They are going to change their mind about the messenger."

There were other mixed results in the survey.

For example, 55 percent of respondents favored a corporate income tax, while 41 percent were opposed. But 61 percent said they feel increased taxes or fees will result in additional job losses, compared with 37 percent who said such increases would not cause job losses.

An overwhelming majority, 82 percent, said any tax increases should be temporary, compared with 14 percent who said they should be permanent.

And when asked to rate issues by importance, 43 percent put jobs and the economy first, followed by 22 percent for education, 16 percent for the state budget, 6 percent for illegal immigration and 5 percent housing and foreclosures.

"I don't envy the governor and the legislators as they tackle this," said Glen Bolger, principal at Public Opinion Strategies. "Odds are whatever they do is going to make people unhappy."

The statewide survey was taken Feb. 8-10 by telephone and included responses from 500 likely voters. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.38 percentage points.

The Retail Association results are similar to results from an October poll by Impact Nevada, a collaboration between the Review-Journal, 8NewsNow and Vegas PBS. That poll of 600 residents showed 52.8 percent declared they favor a combination of tax increases and spending cuts to balance the budget.