Property Tax Relief

Everybody needs to CALM DOWN!

Last session the hot topic was taxes; this session it's only one tax, the property tax. The issue is that property taxes in Nevada have sky rocketed. This is the result of booming real estate market. In 2004, homeowners paid up to 30% more in property taxes then they did in 2003. The need for relief is immediate and real.

That's where the legislature comes in. Nevada lawmakers have until the end of March to pass legislation that will give the much needed relief. However, there are a few obstacles in the way.

First, prior to the beginning of this session, legislators were in a special session to cover the impeachment of the State Controller. This put tremendous stress on the legislative counsel bureau and delayed their ability to get a good jump start on bill drafting. Which in turn has caused us to only have approximately 350 bills out instead of 500-600. There are currently about 1300 bill draft requests in LCB and the deadline for ALL of them to be introduced is Monday. (Yes, this means I will be a very busy girl on Monday. YEAH!)

Second, because of this slow down, LCB has had to issue the order "bills or property tax?" This means that LCB needs the legislators to stop asking for research on property taxes so that the bills can make their Monday deadline. So until Monday, research on the several different tax proposals will have to wait until after the deadline. Property tax relief is the hot button this session, but the are many other things that are also very important and need to have the lawmaker's attention.

Third, there is a clause in the existing law that makes it very difficult to come up with an immediate solution. This clause says that any tax structure MUST be uniform and equal across the state. Nevada is a very big state that has counties on both sides of the spectrum. We have counties that are very poor and counties like Clark that have seen lots of growth. Something that may help Clark County can be detrimental to the rurals and something that will help the rurals won't be enough for Clark County. It is a very difficult task to handle.

Fourth, I think we often forget that coming up with a solution is not our job, it is the job of these lawmakers. They are quickly becoming experts on this situation; they are in the bi-weekly meetings, they are inundated with emails and they are on the firing squad. The legislature is aware we have an issues and I promise they are working on it. In the mean time, leave them alone and let them do their jobs! Threatening them with a prop 13 will not get the job done any faster, it only makes things more difficult. Our lawmakers do not want to see a prop 13; this can have detrimental, long term affects on our state. Instead they want to find a solution that will help all counties both in the short and long terms.

My suggestion is for everyone to stop, take a deep breath and do your research before you act. There are tax meetings all around the state that you can attend and a fantastic Nevada Legislature website where you can watch the committee meetings live. Listen to all the suggestions before you make a decision, then hold on to it and don't let anyone else tell you what to believe. (Even me!)