The following letter has been mailed to Assembly District 19 Republicans. Click here to download printable PDF document…
(Annie Black) – WARNING: The tax man cometh!
Make no mistake, when the 2021 Nevada Legislature reconvenes next February, Democrats are going to push for another massive tax hike to make up for lost revenue due to the #SisolakShutdown.
There are already rumors of plans to tax services – such as haircuts and auto repairs – and even your GROCERIES!
They’re going to do it to protect many of their non-essential “sacred cow” government programs and non-essential government employees…
Even as many of you have lost your businesses, your jobs and your homes after Gov. Sisolak declared YOU to be “non-essential.”
It’s outrageous. But that’s what they’re going to do.
And with that in mind, you have a very important decision to make in the upcoming June 9 GOP primary on who to represent you in Carson City next session when the Tax Man once again comes for your wallet.
Your choice will be between me and our incumbent assemblyman for District 19, Chris Edwards. And the choice couldn’t be clearer.
1.) I will NOT vote to raise your taxes. Period.
I have proudly, and without reservation, signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge promising you that I will “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.” (copy enclosed)
Assemblyman Edwards has refused to sign the Tax Pledge.
2.) For Nevada to recover from the economic devastation of the #SisolakShutdown, simply not raising taxes isn’t good enough.
We need to CUT them!
Here are 5 tax cuts I support…
- Repeal the job-killing Commerce Tax – a business income tax
- Repeal the job-killing Modified Business Tax – a tax that penalizes employers for every person they hire
- Repeal the state business license fee
- Cut the statewide sales tax
- Cut your car registration fee to a flat $50 per vehicle
And I’m open to any and all other tax CUTS you might suggest.
In our post-COVID 19 world, it won’t be enough for the state government to do more with less. It needs to do less with less!
That brings us to Assemblyman Edwards…
As noted, Mr. Edwards refuses to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.
And considering how many tax hikes he’s supported and voted for during his three terms in office, I can understand why.
In the 2015 session alone he voted for 26 out of 32 proposed tax hikes!
Worse…
Edwards was the swing vote that led to the largest tax hike in Nevada history that session. What happened is a little “inside baseball,” but here’s the “Reader’s Digest” version.
In 2014, Republicans took majority control of the State Assembly for the first time in 30 years. That was the good news.
The bad news is that the 25-member GOP caucus was split down the middle between 12 conservative Republicans and 12 moderate Republicans. Assemblyman Edwards was the swing vote.
At first, he sided with the conservatives.
With majority control, the conservatives named Assemblyman Ira Hansen to be the Majority Leader and Assemblywoman Michele Fiore as Chair of the Taxation Committee. And conservatives were appointed to serve on the committee.
With Hansen and Fiore controlling tax committee votes, there was no way Gov. Sandoval’s huge tax hike would ever see the light of day.
But then in late December Hansen unexpectedly resigned as leader and a power struggle ensued. Edwards switched sides and voted with the tax-hiking moderate wing.
That put tax-hiker Assemblyman John Hambrick in charge.
And the first thing he did was replace Fiore as chair of the Taxation Committee with rookie tax-hiker Derek Armstrong – and replaced the conservative members on the tax committee with moderate Republicans.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Without Edwards switching sides, Gov. Sandoval’s “Commerce Tax” would have been D.O.A. – dead on arrival.
But he did something even worse…
Knowing Edwards was the swing vote in the leadership election, conservatives lobbied him not to switch sides.
In turn, Edwards went to the police and falsely claimed they were trying to “extort” him.
An investigation was quietly launched and Edwards secretly wore a wire(!), trying to entrap his conservative colleagues.
Nothing happened. The investigation didn’t uncover any wrongdoing. None of his colleagues were charged with anything.
But once they found out he was a “snitch,” he became a pariah. No one trusted him. And with good reason.
In fact, at one early caucus meeting Assemblywoman Fiore suggested there was a “rat” in the room and specifically asked if Edwards was “wearing a wire.”
All of which set the stage for the largest tax hike in Nevada history…a tax increase that Edwards somehow found a way, John Kerry-like, to vote for before he voted against.
Which I’ll explain in the next AnnieGram.
Watch your mailbox…
Yours in Liberty,
Annie Black
P.S. Do you have a question or concern? Call me on my personal cell at (702) 872-2222.
Annie Black is Republican candidate for Nevada State Assembly District 19. Paid for by Friends of Annie Black.
Click here to download printable PDF
