Montandon rallies against services tax

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Montandon launched a petition this morning against the prospect of a state sales tax on services, which he said would harm small businesses.

The news conference announcing the initiative was an attempt to mark Montandon, the outgoing mayor of North Las Vegas, as the most active candidate at this early stage of the 2010 gubernatorial race. He is the first to roll out policy positions as part of his bid.

A tax on services, from haircuts to locksmithing, is a "fancy term for an income tax," Montandon claimed, and as such something that goes against Nevada tradition. "It's a tax on the talents and abilities of each individual," he said. "Every individual who looks out for an opportunity to be an entrepreneur would be shot down by saying we want to tax your time."

No such tax has yet been proposed as legislative leaders try to focus the debate on spending before they talk about revenue. But Montandon said it's widely known that a service tax is under consideration to patch the state's nearly $3 billion budget hole.