Nevada Voters Favor Casino Tax Increase, According to Online Survey

An online survey by OH Predictive Insights asked 755 registered Nevada voters whether they would support a casino tax increase to fund public education budgets. The proposition comes amid numerous critiques of Nevada’s gaming tax rates which are considered to be the lowest among all states. It turns out a majority supports raising the taxes.

Nevada Voters Support Raising the Casino Tax

The respondents were first asked whether they would like to see the tax on large casinos increase from 6.75% to 9.75% and use the extra funds to support public education. A total of 59% said they would back such a measure. About half of that 59% were convinced this is the right approach and the other half had some reservations, saying that they would “probably” back the idea. A quarter of the respondents were strongly opposed to increasing the tax and 16% remained neutral.

It was noted that the respondents who identified as Republican were the most opposed to the proposal with of them 43% refusing to raise the taxes against 41% supporting the tax increase. On the other hand, as much as three-quarters of the Democrats supported the idea and 59% of the Independents did as well.

In 2020, there were efforts to increase the Silver State’s casino taxation. However, a trade group of casino and hospitality companies filed a lawsuit to block the measure.

Nevada Not Ready to Increase State Tax and Change Elections System

Despite Nevada voters largely favoring the increase of large casino taxation, most of them don’t seem to favor the idea of increasing the state’s sales tax. The respondents were asked whether they would support raising the state’s sales tax rate to 8.35%. It was noted that the extra funds would also go to public education as with the proposed casino tax increase.

It turned out 52% of people oppose such measures against only 32% supporting the sales tax raise. 15% remained neutral. The Democrats were the only group where those who said they would vote for the measure (45%) outweighed those who would vote against (41%). The Republicans’ answer to the idea was a resounding “no” with only 21% supporting raising the sales tax and 64% taking a stance against it. Independents also seem strictly opposed as 54% said they are against the change and only 28% said they would support it.

Lastly, the respondents were asked whether they would support a restructuring of Nevada’s election system. The proposal envisions abolishing the Democratic and Republican primaries and having a ranking process that ranks the top political contenders before moving to a general election among the top five candidates.

It was calculated that 35% support the change and just as many oppose it, with 30% remaining neutral. However, among the change’s opponents, 21% said they are strongly against the idea while only 12% were strongly supportive.

Nevada’s gambling industry had a very successful 2021. It is interesting to see how the voters will affect the sector in the future.