Clark County sales tax hike extended

A sales tax hike of one-eighth of a cent, enacted two years ago throughout Clark County, will not end June 30 after county lawmakers on Tuesday voted to keep the revenue stream intact.

The tax increase, which is restricted to certain uses such as homelessness, affordable housing and early childhood education, will have generated an estimated $69 million by the end of June since its inception on Jan. 1, 2020, according to the county.

The tax, which raised the county’s sales tax rate to 8.375 percent, is projected to bring roughly $47 million into county coffers in the upcoming fiscal year, officials say.

When the commission approved the tax increase in 2019 — a move authorized by the state Legislature — it did so knowing that the tax had a shelf life.

But commissioners on Tuesday unanimously voted to lift the sunset on the hike, a month after first signaling that they planned to do so.

In mid-March, county lawmakers suggested that the source of funds had become more critical by helping to address the sweeping effects of the pandemic.

Officials said last month they had directed $23 million toward homelessness, $12 million to truancy prevention programs, $10 million to affordable housing, $9 million to hospitality workforce training and millions more to early childhood and workforce education.

The tax means consumers, including in cities and on the Las Vegas Strip, pay 1 more cent for every $8 they spend.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.