Teachers in Nevada Looking For Tax Raise From Casino Industry
State after state in the U.S. are folding traditional views and laws in favor of legalizing casino gambling for the good of education. Laws are being written and compacts being signed to allow casino gambling into America's culture.
In the biggest casino gambling state in the country, however, teachers feel there should be more money generated from casinos for education.
A teachers group in Nevada is moving on with the process of its ballot initiative, one that calls for higher taxes from the most lucrative of Nevada's casinos.
The plan would raise about $250 million a year for the states education system.
The way the initiative would work is, any casino grossing more than $1 million a month would have their taxes on gambling revenue raised another 3 percent from the current rate of 6.75 percent.
NSEA President Lynne Warne had this to say, "Nevada ranks near the bottom in per-pupil spending and our educators are tired of the burden they've been forced to bear for years."
Bill Bible, the head of the Nevada Gaming Association, is opposed to the initiative, claiming that the increase will keep investors away, and that will lead to the loss of jobs in the state.
In order for the initiative to get on the ballot, the group must collect 58,628 signatures by May 20th. Then, once on the ballot, the proposal must win voters approval in both the 2008 and 2010 election before it could go into effect.
