Judge Rules for Casino Tax Increase Petition

LAS VEGAS-A Nevada state court has ruled that a petition to raise casino taxes to 9.75% from 6.75% for education is properly written and that it may be used to gather signatures for a ballot initiative. Proponents now will need to collect around 58,628 signatures by late May in order to secure a spot on the November ballot. The ballot measure would need to be approved twice—in November2008 and November 2010—in order to take effect.

The Nevada State Education Association is pursuing the ballot initiative. The opponent is the resort industry, which is represented by the Nevada Resort Association. In setting the stage for signature gathering, Carson City District Court Judge Miriam Shearing rejected the NRA’s claim that the petition had the same flaws as a previous petition that the same judge had rejected. The NRA is now considering whether to appeal.