The tax man cometh … and with a vengeance

Let's say you have a really bad headache. And then along comes somebody who says what you really need to relieve the pain is a bonk on the head with a hammer. Absurd, right?

OK, consider Nevada's current economy and unemployment problem. Now consider that there are at least five active efforts to increase taxes on Nevada businesses percolating. Absurd, right? Right. But that ain't stoppin' 'em.

Legislative Democrats last year wanted to take the 2009 "temporary" tax hikes -- currently valued at $620 million -- and make them permanent. These tax hikes include an increase in the payroll tax and a doubling of the penalty/fee every business must pay for the "privilege" of operating in Nevada.

Enough GOP opposition forced the Democrats to accept "only" a two-year extension of those "temporary" tax hikes. Like the bogeyman in a bad horror flick, however, efforts to make those "temporary" tax hikes permanent will be back next year.

In addition, Democrats also trotted out last session a secretly connived, 11th-hour scheme to slam Nevada's business community with a new $1.2 billion corporate income/gross receipts/margins tax ... which they also plan to bring back again next year.

In the meantime, the anti-business organized labor movement -- especially the AFL-CIO and teacher unions -- isn't waiting for legislative Democrats.

The unionistas recognize that a solid contingent of conservative Republicans in the state Senate isn't about to give Democrats the two-thirds vote they'd need to pass a new business tax. So they're preparing to gather enough signatures to put a new corporate tax measure on the ballot -- rolling the dice that getting 50 percent plus 1 in the electorate will be easier than getting two-thirds in the Legislature.

Which, of course, is the reason we need a new ballot initiative to require future tax-hike ballot initiatives to obtain the same two-thirds super-majority vote for approval as is required for tax hikes proposed in the Legislature.

But that's another issue for another day.

Nevertheless, it's not just the left looking to raise taxes via the ballot. Citizen-activist Kermitt Waters is also mulling a tax initiative which would sock the mining industry, as is conservative businessman Monte Miller. And both may be eying similar targeting of gaming.

It's M.A.D. -- Mutual Assured Destruction. Instead of mining, gaming and small businesses combining forces and fighting to reduce spending, the end result could be that everybody's ox gets gored.

Winner? Government and anti-business liberals.

Of course, the fiscally responsible thing is to just say "no" to all tax hike proposals. To that end, every business owner in Nevada should tell every candidate asking for donations this year that if the candidate doesn't sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, the business owner ain't signing the donation check.

So let it be written; so let it be done.

Chuck Muth, a conservative political activist, is president of Citizen Outreach, founder of CampaignDoctor.com and blogs at MuthsTruths.com He may be reached at chuck@chuckmuth.com. He writes from Las Vegas.