Money, Money, Money - Its A Rich Man's World

Votes "Fore" Sale?

Nevada is having problems making ends meet. Join the club. Governor Terminator of the Earthquake State next door has it even worse and has proposed drastic budget cuts. Ditto our own Guv who first said that K-12 education would avoid the 8% tax cuts of higher education system, prisons, social programs, and nearly every other state agency. Then he told the little kiddies, "Not!" and said millions had to be slashed from the peanut gallery budget. No exemptions. No excuses. Nobody gets to avoid the slashes.

"Twenty lashes," responded the teacher's union. "Not only is the Guv a liar, liar, pants on fire, the gaming industry isn't paying their fair share. We need money to educate the kids and since some states tax their gaming at a rate several times higher than Nevada, how about tacking on a few percentage points for reading, writing, and 'Rithmatic?"

"Blasphemy!" cried the gaming industry, "It will kill tourism. People will go elsewhere to dispose of their disposable income." And so it goes, from entity to entity. Everybody wants what taxes bring but each entity feels the tax burden on them is unfair, should not be increased, and if anything, should be lowered.

Then there are the golf courses. Some clever lobbyists in the year two thousand and "fore" crafted a provision and quietly slipped it into an assessor's bill that was sent it to the legislature. The provision would revalue the golf course property and lower taxes a little. How little? Assessed values changed from $ 25,000 per acre to less than $3,000 per acre. Remember, it was during a time that property values in Nevada were climbing like skyrockets in flight - a real afternoon delight.

And the taxes that were due on the golf courses? Quicker than you can say, "Meet me at the 19th hole for a drink," taxes on one of the parcels on a private hotel golf course dropped from more than $ 5,000 to $ 13 and change. Another parcel at a different private golf course got its taxes out of the sand trap - $ 134,000 in 2004 to $ 72,000 for the current year. The rates contributed to a huge budget divot of the state's $ 450 million shortfall.

The provision, it seems was, was drafted by Senator N. O'Tme and Assemblyman I. Dunno since nobody can remember who sponsored it. But the 60 or so golf courses in the Valley of the Dollars and double that number statewide have benefited by not having to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes compared to previous years. Lobbyists for the golf industry claim the tax breaks are necessary or the golfers will flee to Arizona and Florida to seek their par. That's like saying gasoline is cheaper in another state so that's the place to buy it.

Then there is the "obsolescence factor," a complicated formula that is designed for golf courses that shut down in winter months to only pay taxes on the equivalent of the months they are open. Even though the calculation is designed specifically for winter weather courses, the loophole can be applied to all courses allowing them to further eschew their tax burden. Hole in one? Sounds like some legislators had a hole in the head when they voted for this one.

A little blogging music Maestro... "18 Holes" by Gus Van Sant.

Dr. Forgot

7-7-7 You're a Winner! And a Loser

Ka-Ching... ker plop

Californians are the biggest liars in Las Vegas. Years ago when I first arrived in Las Vegas as a young, struggling schoolteacher I took a second job as a taxi driver and later as my wardrobe improved, a limousine driver. Whenever people would get into my cab or limo I'd always chat with them - "Where are you from? How are the casinos treating you?" etc. Most fares were from California. That is not a surprise as more than half of the visitors to the Valley of the Dollars come from San Andreas by the Sea. What surprised me most is that they would nearly always answer, "I broke even."

I'm here to tell you that if every visitor to a casino broke even, Las Vegas would still be more desert and gulches than concrete and neon. Of course, SOMEBODY has to win a jackpot occasionally. That's one of the things that keeps visitors returning to our oasis. With that in mind, the favorite of all government agencies, the IRS reminds us this time of year to read their Bulletin 419, "Gambling Income and Expenses."

A CPA friend of mine tells me that ALL income is taxable, even the change that you pick up in the parking lot because your kid is too lazy to bend over. Your kid might be lazy but he might not be so stupid since he will not have to declare the parking lot change as income. Although the casual gambler rarely reports casino or track or even internet gaming winnings, the IRS requires it. Three sevens might turn out to be lemons. Be careful how loudly you yell, "Bingo!"

The IRS allows you to deduct losses as long as those deductions don't exceed your winnings. And they want you to keep a log if you plan to deduct. No, not those tallys that casinos provide you. You know, the ones that have disclaimers printed on them? Nope, Uncle Sam wants YOU to keep detailed logs of how often, how much, when and where. Kind of takes the fun out of impulse gambling, but the more information you can provide the better your chances you'll be believed when the tax man cometh.

Want to be a professional gambler? That doesn't mean you place a bet on the Raiders for your brother-in-law. The IRS has recently established a designation of "professional gambler" for those whose frequent gambling activity serves as their primary source of income. The pros get to deduct related expenses such as hotel stays, car rentals, etc. But most gamblers are simply weekend warriors or day trippers upon whom Lady Luck occasionally smiles. If you fall into that category, the IRS wants you to share that information. And when your auditor asks you how you did at the tables, don't say you broke even. He'll know you're lying even of you're not from California.

A little blogging music Maestro... How about The Gambler, Luck Be A Lady, or even Camptown Races?

Dr. Forgot

Las Vegas Happenings

Snippets of Events

Ride 'em Cowboy: Plenty of goings on to celebrate the Valley of the Dollars this week. Pickup trucks have replaced limos as the primary means of transport among attendees of the National Finals Rodeo events. Of course, bucking broncos, Brahma bulls, and bareback steeds are among the means of transportation inside the Thomas and Mack Center, although some of the rides have been briefer than the cowboys had hoped. Wearers of huge silver belt buckles and their posses will have pumped more than fifty million smackeroos into the local economy during their stay. Yeeee-haw!

Palazzo Lallapalooza: One thing hotels and casinos do really really well is market. "Marketing idea of the season" goes to the Las Vegas Sands Corp. that decided to merge swinging hips with rose hips and enter a float for their Palazzo Hotel in this year's January Rose Parade. Never heard of the Palazzo hotel you say? That's why it is so brilliant! The $ 1.8 billion hotel will announce its opening to 40 million television viewers who watch the parade. The float will also show off the Palazzo's sister hotel, the Las Vegas Venetian. A brilliant idea by any other name doth smell as sweet.

Teaching is Taxing: Everybody knows that teachers are overworked and underpaid. Nowhere is that so evident as in Las Vegas. Reading, writing, and 'rithmatic may be taught to the tune of the hickory stick, but teachers need salary to pay for their cups of joe and celery. Each school year starts with thousands of teaching positions absent licensed teachers in large part due to poor salaries. The teacher's union did its homework and decided the gaming industry had not contributed its fair share of taxes. It hopes to send a discipline slip to the voters that will increase gaming taxes to pay for education.

Casino Execs Disrupt Classes: In junior high school many a fight has been started by talking about somebody's mother. In Nevada, fights start by talking about raising gaming taxes. Several big guns who collectively are building $ 14 billion worth of new resorts have told the teachers union, "Don't paddle my canoe." They are willing to write 100 times on the chalkboard, "We will not pay higher gaming taxes." The proposed 3% increase is not the new math gamers want to calculate. They want educators to look for the jackpot in another classroom.

Las Vegas Sings "O Solar Mio:" The Valley of the Dollars boasts more than 350 sunny days per year yet it continues to use the falling levels of the Colorado River, Hoover Dam, and Lake Mead as its primary source of energy. That's where the water turns the turbines that create electricity. With all the sun shining over the valley, developing solar energy resources seems to be a no-brainer. That's exactly what the solar company Ausra of Palo Alto, CA thought when it decided to build a huge solar thermal assembly plant in Las Vegas. The company makes solar power collectors. Las Vegas has as much solar power as anywhere else. With that we will end today's blog. Maestro, how about a little blogging music.... lets do, "You Are My Sunshine."

Dr. Forgot