There’s been a big push in Nevada recently to increase the
tax on mining. An article in Bloomberg Businessweek highlights some of the
details.
Basically, what is happening is the state is trying to replace the lost
gambling revenue by doubling the taxes paid by the mining industry.
In Nevada there is no state income tax. In the past the
mountains of money the state collected from gambling was sufficient to cover
expenses and therefore there was no need for a state tax. When the economy
tanked in 2008 all that nice gaming money went away and Nevada has been in dire
straits ever since.
Frankly, I’m shocked that the gaming industry allowed the
state to saddle them with paying so much in taxes and fees. In Nevada, the big
casinos are the main industry. If they had wanted to throw their weight around
and get some changes to the state tax laws it probably would have happened. The
fact that the casinos were okay with single-handedly supporting the state
implies that there was an enormous amount of money being made.
Now that revenue from gaming is down, state officials are on
the lookout for an industry as profitable and 'evil' as gambling and they think
they have found it: mining.
To state lawmakers, the mining industry is run by corrupt
corporations in the far north regions of the state where nobody matters anyway.
They refuse to recognize mining as a proud heritage of many Nevadans. Mining is
providing jobs and revenue at a time when not much else is going well for the
state. Rather than praise mines and mine workers for a job well done the state
is branding them as the enemy and asking voters to punish them by paying more
in taxes.
Companies like Apple are given huge tax incentives to build
new offices in Nevada but the backbone of the Silver State is being burdened
with huge tax increases. The proposed taxes are not a few percentage
points or a statewide income tax like they have in almost every other state.
These changes would double the taxes paid by mining companies from 5% to 10%.
If your job is in any way related to mining, now is the time
to speak up. If your industry provides support to mines or miners this will
affect you. If you are currently wearing any gold or silver jewelry remember
where that came from and be proud of a state that is not afraid to work hard to
provide the resources that make life a little nicer for everyone else.
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