Vol. 4, No. 3
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December 1, 2006
Nevada's Online State News Journal
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Department Of Taxation Wants
Closed, Secret Meetings
Changes To Open Meeting Law To
Be Discussed At December Hearing
In a special public notice dated November 17, Dino DiCianno, Executive Director of the State of Nevada Department of Taxation says, "We will hold an initial meeting to receive input on proposed language changes to the Nevada Administrative Code Chapter 360 concerning the creation of regulations governing conduct of closed hearings in accordance with the Open Meeting Law." The meetings are called workshops and will be held December 4 in Carson City and video conferenced to Las Vegas. The tax commission has come under fire for discussing tax business with those they are taxing behind closed doors. The Attorney General's office has threatened action if they persist, but the commission instead will attempt to change the law to allow secret meetings in which state tax money is discussed with tax paying entities.
Within the Sales and Use Tax Act, Section 372.750(1) these secret meetings are authorized. "It is a misdemeanor for any member of the Nevada Tax Commission or officer or employee of the department to make known in any manner whatever the business affairs, operations, or information of any taxpayer ... or the amount or source of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular of them set forth or disclosed in any return ... or to permit any return or copy of a return, or any book containing any abstract or particulars of it to be seen or examined by the person not connected with the department." The tax commission uses this section of their code to handle tax matters in secret, and they say the Open Meeting Law provides for their actions.
The commission cites one line in the Open Meeting Law, "Except as otherwise provided by specific statute, all meetings of public bodies must be open and public." An Attorney General opinion from 1979 says the confidentiality rule is there to protect retailers' privacy, to prevent misuse of information, and to facilitate tax enforcement. The Open Meeting Law wasn't created until 1983. The agency says taxpayers are allowed by statute to ask for a closed hearing on a contested tax assessment.
A district court ruling has upheld the validity of the secret sessions, and the tax commission wants to incorporate that ruling in new language for their authorizing code. It's the discussion leading up to a decision that is being held in secret. The actual vote and decision are public. The public however is left in the dark as to what led to the decision. In particular it has been hearings dealing with the energy crunch of a few years ago that has brought this to a head. Utilities that have made what some consider obscene amounts of money on the energy crunch, corporations like Enron, that have asked for complete secrecy in their hearings. Reduced taxes amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars have been at stake in the process.
Whatever changes come from the December hearings do not have to have legislative approval. According to the commission, any changes will become effective upon adoption by the Commission and filing with the Secretary of State. The Carson City hearing will be held in the Legislative Building, Room 3138. In Las Vegas the video conference will be held in the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, Room 4412. The meetings are scheduled for 9:00 a.m. For a look at the proposed changes, go to http://tax.state.nv.us.
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