Nevada Legislature: Panel OKs ‘sunset’ taxes, including $1 cigarette pack hike

A Nevada Assembly panel has approved a plan worth about $600 million that would permanently extend some temporary taxes and raise the state’s cigarette tax.

The Assembly Taxation Committee voted to approve Senate Bill 483 on Thursday.

The bill would make temporary and expiring rates on the payroll tax and sales tax permanent. It also raises taxes on cigarettes from 80 cents to $1.80 per pack.

The so-called “sunset taxes” were created in 2009 and lawmakers have temporarily extended them every two years. Gov. Brian Sandoval called on lawmakers to make the taxes a permanent part of the state’s budget after years of relying on them to fund the budget.

The bill is a significant chunk of Sandoval’s plan to raise and extend taxes by $1.1 billion to fund K-12 education.