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TWO THE NEVADA TAX RE THE NEVADA TAX REVIEW R o o m 3 1 1 F irst N a t io n a l B a n k B u ild in g S e c o n d a n d V ir g in ia R e n o , N e v a d a P. O. Box 485 - - Phone 21678 Published Bimonthly by NEVADA TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION Edited by S. W. CROSBY. Director NUMBER FIFTY-SEVEN JUNE, 1941 WALTER J. HARRIS, President A. J. CATON, Vice-President S. W. CROSBY, Director EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE A. J. CATON, Reno j. E. PRESTON, Reno, F. A. TRACY, Reno W. R. BRACKEN, Las Vegas WALTER J. HARRIS, Reno J. C. KINNEAR, Ely H. B. HARDING, San Francisco GEO. RUSSELL, JR., Elko IS . . . ? ? ?- Q . W h a t are the purposes o f the Association? A . T h e purposes as set forth in the Articles o f Associa­tion are: "1 . T o aid, encourage and prom ote the observance o f economy in adm inistration o f public business in the State o f N e v a d a and in the Counties, Cities and other political subdivisions thereof. 2. T o cooperate w ith and assist the w o rk o f all local, county, m unicipal and state associations or organiza­tions engaged or intersted in prom otin g economy in the expenditures o f pu blic funds, and to assist an d cooperate w ith pu blic officials o f the State and o f Cities, Counties and other political sub-divisions o f the State in the furtherance o f the objects o f the Association. 3. T o aid and assist in obtaining public economy in adm inistration o f public business as may be deem ed w ise and necessary fo r the public w elfare. 4. T h e Association shall confine its activities exclu­sively to the objects and purposes above set forth .” Q . W h a t w o rk has the Association done and w hat is it d o in g now? A . Since the Association w as organized in 1922, w e have been continually on the jo b investigating p u b ­lic affairs and reportin g ou r fin din gs and conclu­sions in the N e v a d a T a x R eview . O u r w o rk has been hum orously called that o f "T h e W a tc h d o g o f the P u blic Treasury.” B ut ou r w o rk has not only con­sisted o f keeping pu blic expenditures and conse­quently taxes d o w n ; w e can take credit fo r develop­in g and prom otin g the adoption o f m any adm inis­trative reform s prim arily in pu blic bu dgetin g and accounting. These reform s have added greatly to the efficiency o f governm ent in N e v a d a . W e could outline a m ultitude o f separate accomplishments w h ich have saved the taxpayers money. H o w e v e r, w e do not w an t to d w e ll too much on past accom­plishments. It should be sufficient to say that much o f the conservative policy in governm ent so evident in N e v a d a throughout the years has been a direct result o f our efforts. O u r present efforts are in line w ith our origin al o b ­jectives. W e are continuing to focus the spotlight o f public attention u pon the increasingly serious tax problem . W e are continuing the attack on the m ounting burden o f taxes at the sources o f all taxes— pu blic expenditures. W it h the increasing sup­port o f the taxpayers, w e expect to do even more. W e expect to get at waste and extravagance on the local level o f governm ent through a series o f sur­veys o f the individual counties. W e expect to deter­m ine the w o rk loads and the costs o f offices and ac­tivities on all levels o f governm ent in N e v a d a so that the citizen and the official can determine the relative efficiency w ith w hich the w o rk is bein g car­ried out. W e expect through m ore frequent p u b li­cations to brin g public attention to bear on these im ­portant matters. W e k n o w that given the proper guidance through enlightened pu blic opinion de­mocracy can be m ade to w o rk as efficiently as any form o f governm ent on earth. A n d w e intend to do all in our p o w er to help provide that guidance. Q . H o w is the w o rk carried out? A . T h e general affairs o f the Association are supervised by the elected officers w h o serve w ithout compensa­tion o f any kind, except the great satisfaction they get from seeing this im portant w o rk carried on. T h e research, reportin g and other detailed w o rk is per­form ed by the fu ll time D irector, w h o also m ight em ploy extra help on specific projects. T h e D irector is an expert in governm ent economics and public administration, w h o has h ad special training and experience to qu alify him fo r the position. N o finer compliment could be asked by any gro u p than the one voluntarily given the N e v a d a Taxpayers Associa­tion the other day by a m an w h o has fo llo w e d ou r w ork closely fo r years. H e said, "T h e work o f the Taxpayers As­sociation is the most im portant work being carried on in the State o f Nevada by any civic group. W h ile I am fust small fry as a taxpayer, you certainly have my wholehearted sup­p o r t ” W e do not hesitate to ask the support o f every taxpayer in the state. O u r w o rk is vital to the best interests o f N e v a d a and all o f its citizens. W H A T A B O U T G O V E R N M E N T A S U S U A L ? T IS I N C R E A S I N G L Y evident that if our national de­fense e ffo rt is to succeed, that is, to reach the point w here the production o f armaments is sufficient to re­arm Am erica and fu lfill our promises to other democracies, it w ill require an all-out e ffo rt calling fo r sacrifices from every man, w om an and child in Am erica. It w ill mean a greatly lo w ered standard o f liv in g fo r us all. It w ill mean unpredictable losses to business and industry both large and small. It w ill mean that m any businesses n o w prosper­in g w ill be w ip ed out, or i f not w ip e d out, they w ill not continue to prosper. T h is e ffo rt w ill affect every com m u­nity in Am erica. R ealizin g all this, the m ajority o f the Am erican people, most industrialists and most business m en are w illin g to make the sacrifice because it appears to be the only safe and hon orable course to pursue. A s late as last Fall, governm ent leadership w as talking business as usual. W h e th e r this w as because o f a lack o f u n ­derstanding o f the m agnitude o f the jo b ahead o r merely a means o f keeping the Am erican people calm w h ile the grou n d w o rk o f defense w as bein g laid, only those leaders NEVADA TAX REVIEW THREE know . N o w , how ever, w e are bein g prepared fo r the sacri­fices ahead. W e are told that rationing w ill be necessary in certain lines o f consumer goods. Prices have already in ­creased considerably on m any o f the necessities. W e already have a tax b ill w hich takes about $1 in every $5 o f w hat w e earn, and w e can expect a tax b ill which w ill take m ore than $1 in every $4. T h is w ill leave $3 o f the $4 to buy w hat w e w ant, need, or can get at increased prices. A n d yet w e are not paying the fu ll b ill fo r w hat is being done this year, let alone w hat future years w ill bring. I f w e paid the fu ll bill, w e w o u ld have less than $2 left out o f every $3 w e earn. W h a t w e expect to get from this effort is no doubt w orth even many times w hat w e w ill have to pay provided that through the very e ffo rt w e are m aking w e do not lose w hat w e are g o in g after, namely, the freedom em bodied in the Am erican w ay o f life. A n y w ay , as individuals, most o f us are w illin g to change our plans, our very pattern o f life, and make any other sac­rifices necessary to see this thing through^ But there is a question m any have been asking and w hich they w ill con­tinue to ask until it is answered. T h e question is: " W h a t about governm ent as usual?” W e w ill not have business as usual. W e w ill not be able to live our separate lives as usual. These are sacrifices w e w ill all m ake as individuals. W h ile w e are each separately m akin g sacrifices, can w e not also make some collective sac­rifices and do w ithout at least some o f our governm ent as usual ? O u r national safety depends u pon the country being strong enough m ilitarily to meet any com bination o f m ili­tary enemies from without. In addition, our national safety depends u pon the country being strong enough economical­ly to meet any com bination o f economic enemies from w ith ­in or without. O u r economic strength w ill depend upon our country rem aining financially sound. Unless, o f course, w e are w illin g to accept from w ithin the very thing w e are pre­p arin g to defend ourselves against fro m without, namely, a forced economy based upon totalitarian government. These are facts and not ideas. W e k n o w that the totali­tarian fo rm o f governm ent is the child o f economic chaos. W e also k n o w that economic chaos fo r a nation comes p ri­m arily fro m overburdening debt. It is too much to hope that through political m agic, short o f complete regim enta­tion, governm ent debt in the U n ited States w ill not have that effect. It has happened in other countries. W h ile w e are p reparin g fo r w a r w ith all available speed, w e should at the same time lo o k fa r enough ahead to prepare fo r peace, fo r the time w hen w e can resume our nom al w ay o f life. W h a t the w o rld is like tom orrow w ill depend upon w hat w e can do to it today. W e can sow the seeds o f eco­nomic chaos or w e can pay as w e spend, or m ore nearly pay as w e spend, and reap a constructive crop o f double pre­paredness, both m ilitary and economic. T h ere is only one w ay to remain financially sound, and that is through d o in g w ithout some things w hich w e can­not a ffo rd . W e must have armaments; therefore w e must g o w ithout som ething else in governm ent. O u r total income is not yet great enough to continue on w ith governm ent as usual and still become the strongest m ilitary po w er in the w o rld , especially w h en our competitors are sacrificing so greatly fo r armaments. W e are the richest nation in the w o rld , but not that rich. W e must choose tem porarily, and to any degree necessary, between norm al education and m ilitary training, between curb and gutter p avin g and m ili­tary roads, between F lorid a canals and St. Law rence w ater­ways and battleships, between idealistic and costly govern ­mental reform s and airplanes. W e cannot indefinitely con­tinue to g o into debt in order to have both. Consequently, w h ile w e are m akin g individual sacrifices fo r national de­fense, let us ask our national, state and local political rep­resentatives to help us also m ake some sacrifices collective­ly ; let us give up some o f the luxuries in governm ent. 1941 A D V A L O R E M T A X R A T E S / T \ N T H E B A S IS o f tentative tax rates submitted to the r* J N e v a d a T a x Com m ission and the State rate fix e d by the 40th session o f the State Legislature, the tax­payers o f N e v a d a w ill pay considerably m ore in 1941 than they p aid in 1940. T h e fo llo w in g tabulation shows the actual 1940 State and County rates and the tentative 1941 rates. S T A T E A N D C O U N T Y T A X R A T E S O N $100 O F V A L U A T I O N Governmental 1940 1941 Increase or Unit Actual Rate Tentative Rate Decrease State ..................... Counties:— — ........58 $ .695 + .1 1 5 Churchill ............. .............- 2.23 2.321 + .0 9 1 C lark ................... .... ......... . 1.82 1.76 — .06 D o u g la s ...............— ............ 2.17 2.10 B . 0 7 E lko ..... :.............. ........... .. 1.13 1.17 + . 0 4 Esm eralda .... ...... .. ............ 2.67 2.805 + .1 3 5 Eureka ................. ................ 1.62 1.57 — .05 H u m b o ld t ..... ..... .......f.... 1.54 1.484 — .056 Lander ................. ..... ......... 2.29 2.54 + .2 5 Lincoln ................. ............... 2.62 2.77 + .1 5 L y o n ..................... ............... 1.61 1.605 — .005 M in e ra l ............... ............... 2.82 2.89 ' + . 0 7 N y e ..................... - ............. 3.12 3.055 ? * 0 6 5 O rm sby ............... . .......... 1.80 2.13 + . 3 3 Pershing ............. - ..........- 1.15 1.25 ?BH Storey ................. ____ _____ 2.10 2.066 — .034 W a sh o e ______ ___ ............... 1.62 1.805 + .1 8 5 W h ite Pine ......... ____ _ _ 2.15 2.28 + 4 3 C om bin in g the State and County rates, w e get a clearer idea o f the overall rate in each County. C O M B I N E D S T A T E & C O U N T Y T A X R A T E S O N $100 O F V A L U A T I O N County— 1940 1941 Actual Rate Tentative Rate Increase or Decrease C h u rc h ill ........... ___ ________ $2.81 $3,016 + . 2 0 6 C la r k .................. . ........... 2.40 2.455 ,V||055 D o u g la s ............? _________ 2.75 2.795 + . 0 4 5 E lk o ....... ....... . .............. . 1.71 1.865 + . 1 5 5 E sm e ra ld a ......... - ......... .. 3.25 3.500 B R - .25 E u re k a ......1........ ................. . 2.20 2.265 + . 0 6 5 H u m b o ld t ......... 2.12 2.179 ? 1 . 0 5 9 L a n d e r __________ .................. 2.87 3.235 + . 3 6 5 L in c o ln ................ .................. 3.20 3.465 ? + .2 6 5 L y o n ..................... ....... ........... 2.19 2.300 + . L 1 , M in e r a l ............. . .......... ....... 3.40 3.585 ' + 1 1 .1 8 5 N y e ........ ............ ........ ...... . 3.70 3.750 + • 0 5 - O r m s b y ........ ..... .................. 2.38 2.825 + . 4 4 5 P e r s h i n g .............. ____________ 1.73 1.945 + . 2 1 5 S torey 1 ......... . ................. 2.68 2.761 + .0 8 1 W a s h o e _________ ..........m.....2.20 2.500 + . 3 0 W h it e Pine ....... ................. 2.73 2.975 + .2 4 5