State controller’s group seeks to repeal commerce tax

CARSON CITY — A group led by state Controller Ron Knecht has filed a referendum petition with the Secretary of State's office seeking to ask voters in 2016 to repeal a new commerce tax approved by the 2015 Legislature.

A Political Action Committee called "Rip Commerce Tax" filed the petition on Thursday.

Knecht said even if there is a legal challenge to the petition he expects it to survive. It seeks only to repeal the commerce tax, which would raise about $60 million a year. The group is still seeking funding to collect the signatures, which won't happen until after any legal challenge is rejected, he said.

"We're going to get this on," Knecht said.

Because voter turnout was so low in the 2014 general election, it won't require a large number of signatures to put the repeal on the ballot. Ten percent of those who voted last year would have to sign the petition, which is about 55,000 signatures. Signatures would have to be turned in for counting by June 2016 from all four of Nevada's congressional districts.

The commerce tax was part of a $1.4 billion revenue package sought by Gov. Brian Sandoval and approved by a majority of state lawmakers to fund the current two-year budget, including a big increase in public education spending.

Sandoval is opposed to the petition, and recently called any such measure "a wrongheaded attack on the children and families of Nevada."

"Supported by more than seventy percent of legislators, the revenue the petition seeks to eliminate will go directly to the classroom and give teachers the resources to deliver a quality education," he said.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801