Tax pledge pusher: Senator “100 percent correct” on mining tax

Conservative political consultant Chuck Muth, Nevada’s most vocal proponent of signed, anti-tax pledges, said Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, is “100 percent correct” in stating a vote for more mining taxes wouldn’t violate such a pledge if it were offset by a cut elsewhere.

On Monday Roberson, a pledge signer, said he wanted to learn more about how the mining industry is taxed in Nevada and decide for himself whether or not mining taxes should go up.

Asked whether it would violate his pledge Roberson said, “You can raise taxes in one area and offset them by lowering taxes in another area.”

Monday night Muth said Roberson was correct and highlighted a paragraph in the version of the pledge published by Americans For Tax Reform, the group most closely associated with pressuring politicians to sign.

“While ATR opposes any tax increase as a matter of principle, the Pledge does not require opposition to revenue neutral reform. However, for tax reform to be considered revenue neutral, a tax increase must be tied to an offsetting tax cut of at least equal size. Generally, the offset must be specified in the same piece of legislation. Furthermore, the tax increase and tax cut must occur in a reasonable corresponding time window,” the pledge states.

Neither Roberson nor Muth endorsed higher mining taxes.

Muth said Roberson is one of the few politicians who understands the pledge doesn’t entirely bind the hands of government when it comes to building a revenue structure.

For example, the Legislature could legalize marijuana or gay marriages and the taxes and fees collected from those activities wouldn’t count as a tax increase, Muth said.

“In the long run, the tax hikers would actually get what they want, more revenue for the government, without actually raising the overall tax burden on Nevadans,” Muth said.

Taxes are a hot topic in Carson City as Democratic Legislators are looking for ways to spend more money from the general fund than the $5.8 billion Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval proposed in his 2011-13 budget, a decrease of about 6.4 percent from the previous two years.

Democrats would need unanimity within their own party plus three Senate and two Assembly Republicans to get the two-thirds majority needed to increase taxes.

Mining is under particular scrutiny because environmental and progressive activists have waged a long public relations campaign saying the industry doesn’t pay enough taxes. They cite a provision in state law that allows mines to deduct myriad expenses when calculating what is owed for “net proceeds of minerals” taxes.

Also, the activists want to strip state law of a provision that gives mining companies the right of eminent domain.

Roberson’s comments came after a hearing about the eminent domain provision before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

During the hearing Roberson asked Nevada Mining Association President Tim Crowley questions about mining taxes and said he didn’t feel Crowley gave him a straight answer.

Sandoval senior advisor Dale Erquiaga said the governor hasn't yet taken a position on the eminent domain issue. Sandoval has stated in the past he is opposed to higher mining taxes, but hasn't signed a tax pledge.

However, Republicans who decided to buck Sandoval on the mining tax issue could still find political cover if conservative primary voters felt they did so without violating the tax pledge.