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the economy real estate Henderson could get 1,100 new homes, senior community By Eli Segall staff writer mona shield payne education initiative: A 2 percent business tax to be voted on in November would benefit schools. Nevada voters may eagerly support a 2 percent tax By Andrew Doughman staff writer Here's one for shoppers: No state business tax means you should be getting better prices here than in other states, right? After all, if businesses pay fewer taxes in Nevada than in other states, the savings ought to trickle down to Nevada consumers. But just the opposite is happening, says Guy Hobbs, founder of Hobbs, Ong & Associates, Inc., a Las Vegas-based financial advisory firm. Nevadans are effectively subsidizing other states' consumers because people living in hightax states are paying about the same price as people do in Nevada when they shop at national retailers, Hobbs said. And the complaint doesn't stop there. Nevadans also are paying with a diminished quality of life that is rubbed in our noses with every new ranking that compares Nevada dismally with the other states. Some political activists say it's time for large companies to pay more to do business in Nevada and are advocating a tax measure to wring money out of companies for Nevada's education system. That effort comes in the form of a proposed 2 percent business margins tax, | 6 JANUARY 2014 20140106_VI07_F.indd 7 | which teachers and others want voters to approve in the Nov. 4 election. "We're getting taken to the cleaners by big businesses in this state, and that has to stop," said Dan Hart, consultant for the Nevada State Education Association. "They don't want to pay their fair share for access to our labor force and market." The Education Initiative, as it's called, would impose a 2 percent tax on businesses that gross more than $1 million a year after deductions for payroll and cost of goods. It would be Nevada's first business tax on all of the state's businesses. Retailers cringe at the suggestion that Nevadans are getting burned at the cash register because of the businesses' tax benefits. The retail price of goods is set by factors more complicated than simply whether a business is taxed by a state, says Bryan Wachter, director of government affairs for the Retail Association of Nevada. In fact, there are some businesses that may be unable to raise prices if they are subjected to a 2 percent tax on their revenue, because they would no longer be competitive with national retailers who benefit from the economy of scale. After years of delay, a proposed Henderson master-planned community that fell victim to the recession might finally see shovels in the ground. The LandWell Co., developer of the proposed 2,200-acre Cadence project between Boulder Highway and Lake Mead Parkway, has sold at least 200 acres to homebuilder Lennar Corp. and is working with Woodside Homes to develop 18 acres. The deals, which would bring 1,100 new homes to the valley, come during an improved year for the local home construction market with rising sales, prices and development plans. It also marks the first time that Henderson's LandWell — which unveiled plans to develop Cadence, a former industrial-waste dump, almost a decade ago — has sold land there to a homebuilder. More sales are likely to follow, spokesman Matt Driscoll said. "Things should start to heat up pretty soon," he said. The Lennar purchase is the first piece of a larger transaction for the Miami company, which plans to develop at Cadence an age-restricted, senior community of almost 1,000 homes, Las Vegas Division President Jeremy Parness said. Meanwhile, LandWell also wants Utah-based Woodside to build 119 single-family homes on LandWellowned property at Cadence, city records show. The Henderson Planning Commission is scheduled to consider the proposal Jan. 16. Cadence residents would live on a site that for years was a legal dumping ground for manufacturers and government agencies. Waste was poured into unlined evaporation ponds until 1976. At least one company, Titanium Metals Corp., switched to lined ponds and dumped waste there until 2005. In 1991, manufacturers and LandWell affiliate Basic Management Inc., which owned the Cadence site, launched efforts to clean the property. Executives have spent more than $60 million on testing and analysis and at least $65 million on restoration work. higher education Med school recommended for sake of economy By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer Developing a medical school at UNLV would be the single most productive means of diversifying Southern Nevada's economy and improving the quality of life here, according to local analysts and economists. Mary Riddel, chair of the Economics Department at UNLV's Lee Business School, said a medical school would provide the biggest bang for the buck for the local economy because companies looking to relocate or expand here consider the state of health care in a community when they make their decisions. "When you look at the benefits vs. the costs, I think it's pretty clear," Riddel said. "What do we get with a medical school? We get economic resiliency." Riddel said Nevada ranks 46th in the nation in the number of doctors per capita, indicating a need for more medical professionals. She said studies show that 70 percent of students remain in the location of their medical residency. Riddel's comments came during a panel discussion after Glenn Christenson, chairman of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, said the that diversifying the economy is the long-term solution to protecting Southern Nevada from the devastating effects of a recession. 7 1/2/14 10:22:19 AM

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