Businesses must be made to pull their weight

Stephen Phillips, Las Vegas

Thursday, June 26, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

Our legislators will gather Friday in Carson City to fix the state’s budget mess. Unfortunately, the work will be done with a bone saw rather than a bottle of medicine that could possibly cure the illness, which is the tax structure in Nevada.

As citizens of this state, we pay taxes every time we buy fuel for our vehicles, purchase goods at a store or register our vehicles, and the list goes on. But let’s look at our corporate citizens, the big-box stores, banks, car dealerships and, yes, newspapers. Other than the cost of doing business in Nevada, what do these entities pay to support services in Nevada?

It is time that these corporate citizens pay their share to Nevada. Every year corporations earn millions of dollars in Nevada, from Nevadans, then send the money back to their corporate headquarters without having to pony up anything for the state where the money was earned.

Think of it, a portion of these profits could be used to better our education system, infrastructure, medical system and more.

It is time for the legislators to stop thinking about Band-Aids and start thinking about a cure to the problem. They should make decisions based on what is right for the long-term economic well-being of Nevada.