LV Chamber: Reform education and fund it

Dear Las Vegas Metro Chamber Member:

The time has come to have some serious tax reform discussions. (Always, always, start with a joke!)After the recent defeat of the Margin Tax Initiative, we shared with you that the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce is committed to pressing for outcomes (outcomes!) in the 2015 legislative session that will address the quality of K-12 education with policies that will lead to measurable and markedly improved classroom achievement. Like many other stakeholders, the Metro Chamber has been a strong and consistent advocate for positive change – including Common Core Standards, additional funding for English Language Learners, all-day kindergarten and adoption of STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Like never before, the time is now to reform education in a meaningful way, with improved and dependable funding as a necessary part of the conversation. (Improved and dependable. Those are new adjectives from these folks.)

K-12 education is a high priority but not the only one at stake. Higher education, health and human services and transportation infrastructure, to name a few, also must be addressed in this next legislative session. (Oh, and you will support tax increases for these needs? Do tell.) But we cannot adequately address these priorities without, first, reviewing and reforming our tax structure. Our community’s employers, like you, have long asked for a steady and predictable tax structure – one that can generate future revenue enhancements but also bring much needed stability and reduced volatility, improving the ability to plan for the future of your business and providing a foundational structure to support our economy. (Most stable tax: Income tax. Second: Gross receipts. Which one you want?)

The Metro Chamber is not alone in its desire to find solutions and implement change. Many in our state are passionate about addressing these matters; the adoption of meaningful public policies starts from the perspective of uniting our state and not dividing it. (Yes, you have a history of being uniters. Thank you.) As such, the Metro Chamber is committed to engaging with its statewide partners to focus on reforming tax structure by gathering insights and ideas from others to develop a plan of action. As Nevada’s leading voice of business, the Metro Chamber will be reaching out to legislators, chambers and trade associations, organized labor, educators, community leaders and other stakeholders to help foster a cooperative, communicative and broad-based dialogue about tax reform in 2015 and to develop a plan.

We know that tax reform will require give and take; it will mean compromise. (A word not usually heard from the Just Say No caucus.) The Metro Chamber is asking our members and our partners in the community and the state to join us in moving forward to get something done in the 2015 legislative session. Our children - Nevada’s future workforce - depend on action in this session to produce meaningful reforms. (Our children are our future. Cue Whitney....) We will keep you updated on our progress in working with our partners to move forward on these important issues. We also ask that you participate in the Chamber’s K-12 Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday, December 16, to come up to speed on these matters and give us your input.

Regards,