Senate moves to end tax cut for businesses providing child care

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Senate has voted 14-7 to repeal a tax break for businesses that offer child care for low-income employees.

But SB403, moving Thursday to the Assembly, was criticized as a move that could encourage sweatshops.

Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, originally planned to give a tax cut to firms that hire people whose income does not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty standard. That's just over $12,000 a year for a single person, just over $20,000 for a family of three and nearly $25,000 for a family of four.

To achieve that goal, he got rid of a rule requiring businesses to hire low-income workers and provide onsite child care or vouchers defraying child-care costs in order to qualify for the tax break.

Welfare activists protested, saying deleting the requirement would give companies the incentive to keep salaries low without encouraging them to offer raises or help with child care.

But no firms were taking advantage of the exemption anyway, said Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, chairman of the Senate Taxation Committee. The panel decided last month to delete all exemptions - including those for companies that hire low-income workers or provide child care.

During the Senate floor session Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, called the repeal of the original tax break "half-baked."

"This bill takes child care in the wrong direction," she said. "If no one's taking advantage of it, we ought to fix the law and offer a real solution."

Washington said he was willing to work with Titus when the bill is moved to the Assembly to see if the problems can be worked out. He introduced the bill at the request of businesses in his district, but he didn't identify them.

Senators who voted against the measure included Titus; Mark Amodei, R-Carson City; Mark James, R-Las Vegas; Bernice Mathews, D-Sparks; and Terry Care, Maggie Carlton, Valerie Weiner, all D-Las Vegas.

The Senate also voted 21-0 for a bill to let whistleblowers reap financial benefits by helping agencies recover money from contractors who overcharged them.

Under SB418, a contractor accused of overbilling could be sued and forced to pay up to triple the amount overcharged. The liable contractor also could face civil penalties of $2,000 to $10,000 per false claim.

A whistleblower could get up to one-third of the court-awarded damages if the case is prosecuted by state authorities and half of the damages if there is no state intervention.

The bill was co-sponsored by Titus, Care and Sen. Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas.

Titus said laws to protect whistleblowers have returned millions of dollars to the federal government since they were first enacted in 1863 during the Civil War. She added that false claims could include contractors and health care providers who overcharge for services.

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