Nevada tax revenues down 4.1 percent

Tax revenue for the year ending June 30 totaled $2.71 billion, down about $115 million from fiscal 2007 collections, according to the state Taxation Department report.

Casino-related tax revenue was $772 million, a drop of 5.9 percent, or $48 million; while sales tax revenue was $966 million, a decline of 3.4 percent, or $34 million. Those are the two biggest sources of revenue for the state.

As the result of the downturn, Gov. Jim Gibbons and legislators since January have approved nearly $1.2 billion in spending reductions during the two-year budget cycle that ends in mid-2009.

Despite the declines, Gibbons' communications director, Ben Kieckhefer said there isn't a pressing need for another special legislative session to deal with additional cuts.

Legislators met in a June 27 one-day session to approve $275 million in reductions. They will convene in their regular 120-day session Feb. 2.

The final fiscal 2008 numbers were issued Wednesday after the taxation agency finished tallying revenue sources reported to the state quarterly by businesses. Gambling and sales tax collections are the only major revenues reported to the state monthly.

While collections were down year over year, state budget chief Andrew Clinger said the total is within $3 million of a recently revised forecast by the state Economic Forum--and that's "good news at this point."

Josh Hicks, Gibbons' chief of staff described the revenue total as, "not good, but it's not falling off a cliff." He and others in the administration had been worried the final tally would be significantly worse.