Thursday, Sept. 25, 2003 | 9:01 a.m.
I am tired of reading that there have been no tax increases in Nevada for the last 12 years, a "fact" usually given as the reason for the huge tax increases passed this year. These statements lead a person to believe that the amount of money available to the state for providing services has remained the same, while the numbers of people in the state have grown dramatically.
While there have been no tax "rate" increases, tax revenue has increased substantially every year.
When the Legislature passes a budget, it is based on a projected increase in revenue. When a budget is passed counting on a high level of economic growth (which translates into high increases in tax revenue), and then growth is lower than projected, we have a deficit, even though revenue has increased.
Throughout the 1990s, tax revenue increased at an extremely high rate. We are now experiencing a period of economic slowdown, translating to a lower rate of increase in revenues than in the past.
We, the people of Nevada, need to decide what services we want and at what level we are willing to pay for them. That is the issue here, not how long it has been since we had a tax rate increase.
DOROTHY WAGNER
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