Revised 'green' tax bill offered

Nevada lawmakers, backed by a new legal opinion, offered a revision Wednesday of a new "green" tax bill that will substantially reduce property tax breaks and eliminate retroactively most of the sales tax exemptions that had been sought by developers.

The new version allows for between 2 and 8 percent property tax break for up to 10 years, down from the 25 to 35 percent originally proposed.

Also, only construction supplies purchased between October and December 2005 would be eligible for the sales tax break - long before most companies expressed interest in the exemption.

Two companies, Boyd Gaming Corp. and Molasky Companies which had already applied for the tax breaks, opposed the revised version on grounds it would no longer offer a strong enough incentive to build according to green standards. A Molasky representative said it could jeopardize the firm's construction financing.

Also on Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously to delete similar tax breaks in SB437, a wide-ranging energy bill sponsored by Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno. The bill contained 50 percent property tax breaks for homeowners who build according to green standards.