Gibbons says Guinn hasn't proven need for tax hikes

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said Thursday he is proud to be the author of a tax initiative that makes it tough for lawmakers to raise taxes on Nevadans.

Gibbons authored the constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds vote of each house to raise taxes while he was a member of the Nevada Assembly 10 years ago.

"Yes, it's an obstacle," he said after addressing the Nevada Legislature. "And it was designed to be. It was designed to force government to do what it wouldn't otherwise do: prioritize spending and cut where it can and then ask for taxpayer help."

Gov. Kenny Guinn, also a Republican, said while announcing his plan to seek a $1 billion increase in taxes to balance the coming two-year budget that he had done just that -- looking for every efficiency possible and cutting agency budgets to the bare minimum before proposing tax increases.

Asked whether he thinks Guinn has met that standard, Gibbons said no.

"I think that case has yet to be made," he said.

Taxes took up a significant part of Gibbons' nearly hourlong address to the members of the Legislature.

"There is a legitimate concern from our fellow Nevadans that tax policy -- whether it originates in our nation's capital or here in Carson City -- is often being formulated under the wrong set of priorities," he said.

He said President Bush's economic recovery plan makes the right choices by proposing sweeping tax cuts. Despite claims by Democrats that only the rich will benefit, it will provide relief for low- and middle-income taxpayers, Gibbons said.

Under the Bush plan, he said, a middle-income family of four earning $40,000 a year would see its federal taxes drop from $1,700 to just $45 a year. He said the plan would cut federal taxes for 39 million workers nationwide to zero.

And Gibbons defended his call to permanently eliminate the estate tax, saying it's not just for the wealthy even though it doesn't apply to those with less than $1 million in assets.

Too often the "death tax" forces survivors to close and sell a family business, ranch or farm, he said, and that's fundamentally unfair because those people have paid taxes on their property and businesses throughout their lives.

"It's not fair to tax them simply on the occasion of death," he said.

Gibbons also defended Bush's hard line on Iraq and North Korea. Sadam Hussein, he noted, has defied U.N. resolutions calling for disarmament and cooperation for 12 years, and North Korea's Kim Jung Il already has nuclear weapons.

He said both regimes pose an immediate threat to U.S. security.

"Complacency is deadly in national security," he said.

He said some ask whether the threat is imminent.

"I'm not sure imminent isn't a French word," he said, referring to the French government's rejection of the U.S. request for a renewed U.N. resolution supporting an attack.

If the United States waits for the attack, it will be too late, he said.

Gibbons, a Gulf War veteran, said Saddam may still "come to his senses" and prevent war, but he isn't holding out much hope that will happen.

Gibbons is the third member of Nevada's congressional delegation to address the Legislature this week. The remaining two members of Congress, Democrat Shelley Berkeley and Republican Jon Porter, have not yet been scheduled to speak.