Raggio pushes for new tax study

CARSON CITY — Noting it has been 20 years since the last state-financed tax study, Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio today pitched the need for a new one. "Why would anybody be afraid to have a tax study unless they are afraid of the outcome?" said Raggio during a Senate Finance Committee hearing. Under his Senate Bill 399, the state would pay $300,000 to hire an independent firm to look at taxes, including local taxes and whether taxes increase in proportion to the state's growth.

The committee took no action on the bill, with Raggio himself saying it would be something to enact near the end of the session. During his presentation, Raggio noted the Nevada tax burden, on a per capita basis, has been consistently rated as among the five lowest in the nation by the Tax Foundation.