MGM Mirage CEO Lanni E-Mails Workers to Reject Tax Plan
MGM Mirage Chairman Terry Lanni sent a letter to his myriad employees asking them to refuse to sign the petition being circulated by the Nevada state teachers' union. The teachers' proposal would place on the ballot an initiative that would raise the state's casino tax from 6.75% to 9.75%.
The revenue received from the 44% hike would be earmarked for teacher pay raises and school improvements. Lanni appealed to the company's 58,000 employees in Nevada, saying the petition was not specific in how funds are to be used.
Lanni told employees in the e-mail that the union was misleading voters with confusing rhetoric, and that the proposal made no mention of committing money to physical improvements, nor set policy as to how raises would be awarded.
He mentioned that the tax would generate hundreds of millions of dollars without specifying exactly how the money is to be spent. Perhaps greater sympathy could be reached by not pointing out that 3% of casino revenues approaches the billion-dollar mark.
If the petition manages to garner 58,836 signatures by a May 20th deadline, it would then be put to the general voting public this fall. Even if it passes then, the bill would have to pass another general election in 2010, before becoming a state constitutional amendment.
Casino taxes are generally far higher in other states than in Nevada. Some states approach the 50% mark. Nevada casinos point out that, in other states, the higher tax rate buys an amount of exclusivity, whereas competition in Nevada is numerous and fierce.
Polls have shown that residents feel the state needs the income, and voters are likely to pass the measure if it reaches the ballot. Alternatives would involve taxes on the general population, such as property tax, and that is considered highly unlikely, with the governor having won office by promising no new taxes for citizens.
