Testing Gibbons' No-New-Tax Pledge

Nevada families have only just embarked on a great (or possibly horrendous) experiment: life under a "no new taxes" governor. Incoming Governor Jim Gibbons has made it clear he won't accept tax hikes. But already Gibbons faces a challenge:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, is carrying a bill in 2007 to allow Washoe County to impose the same real estate transfer tax for schools as in Clark County.Smaller counties were given other taxes to build schools, leaving Washoe as the only school district in the state without any extra tax help, Superintendent Paul Dugan said.

Critics of the "no new tax" pledge (including yours truly) frequently point out that the pledge is a triumph of politics over policy: it's not about what's right from a policy perspective, it's about what you think sells with voters. When your stance is "no tax hikes of any kind," that gives you no latitude at all to deal with tax inequities such as the regional unfairness Senator Raggio's plan would fix. Good policymakers start with all their options on the table. Leaving fully half of the fiscal policy options in the closet will make it substantially harder for Gibbons and the state legislature to enacted needed tax reforms in 2007 and 2008.