The Nevada state AFL-CIO has voted overwhelmingly to oppose a business tax initiative that will appear on the November 4th ballot. Backed by the teachers union and once endorsed by the AFL-CIO, the Education Initiative seeks to impose a two percent margins tax on businesses that gross more than $1 million annually. The Nevada State Education Association and other supporters say it will raise about $700 million annually for public education. But opposition to the margin tax has been increasing, and the labor group is the latest to publicly oppose the ballot initiative.
The AFL-CIO represents 200,000 workers in Nevada. "The vote (Friday) in opposition to the margins tax initiative is not a vote against education," Danny Thompson, AFL-CIO executive secretary treasurer, said in a statement. Thompson said it was a vote against a "flawed initiative that will cost many of our members their jobs." John Ralston, host of Ralston Reports, reported Friday's vote was 229-78. In its resolution, the AFL-CIO says the tax would be a burden to a still-recovering building trades industry. The one-page document also says the labor groups feels tax policy is best established through the legislative process.
Danny Thompson, AFL-CIO Executive Secretary Treasurer