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The $2 Billion Shortfall That Wasn't

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons, Taxpayer Protection Pledge signer and as of last month, Pledge breaker, recently released his budget proposal which included a 3 percent room tax increase. Tax and Spenders in the Silver State claim the tax hike is needed to address what they say is a $2.3 billion shortfall (aka overspending) for the next biennium.

Luckily the good folks at the Nevada Policy Research Institute have revealed the real fiscal situation, employing an old but useful tool know as “facts.”

NPRI policy analyst Patrick Gibbons thoroughly debunks the myth of the $2.3 billion shortfall here. As it turns out the false deficit is derived from a baseline that assumes an automatic 20 percent budget increase, representing a government operating in stark contrast to the employers and families that have been cutting back in the midst of the economic downturn. As it turns out, the Governor’s budget includes only $900 million in cuts, or a meager 0.9 percent reduction. Indeed, many Nevada workers and businesses would gladly welcome less than a 1 percent cutback in these tough times. Click here to read the full analysis.

Not only has NPRI exposed the fallacy of the $2.3 billion budget shortfall, they have proposed a bold and innovative package of policy recommendations and reforms that would increase government efficiency, reduce waste and redundancy, and implement the structural reforms needed to protect Nevada taxpayers. Click here for NPRI’s proposal in its entirety.

To view ATR's official statement on Gov. Gibbons’ violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, click here.

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