The Nevada Policy Research Institute has issued a report charging the subsidies and tax breaks offered to lure Tesla to western Nevada are unconstitutional.
The conservative group charged the “corporate gift package for Tesla should concern all Nevada taxpayers and entrepreneurs.”
“While the specifics of what Gov. Sandoval seeks on (Tesla CEO Elon) Musk’s behalf have yet to be made clear, the state constitution specifically prohibits politicians from handing tax dollars to private companies,” said NPRI spokesman Geoffrey Lawrence.
He said that issue has already been raised in NPRI’s lawsuit protesting the Governor’s Office of Economic Development decision to grant $1 million to SolarCity, another Musk business.
According to Lawrence both that grant and the package of subsidies and tax abatements in the Tesla deal violate Article 8, Section 9 of the Nevada Constitution prohibiting the state from donating or loaning money, credit any other such benefit to any company association or corporation except for educational or charitable groups.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment