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General Market Commentary
Nevada lawmakers push tax break for lithium development
Nevada lawmakers push tax break for lithium development
People who explore and develop lithium resources in Nevada would get a tax break under a proposal before the state legislature.
Assemblyman Jim Wheeler, R-Minden, and Sen. Pat Spearman, D-North Las Vegas, are making the proposal in the form of a bill draft request, the predecessor to a bill.
Although the bill isn’t yet written, Wheeler said it would seek to exempt from sales tax equipment and supplies used to explore for and develop lithium.
The idea, Wheeler said, is to encourage mining and refinement of lithium in the state.
“There is a lot of lithium in Nevada,” Wheeler said. “We would be the fourth largest supplier in the world if we were to actually take advantage of our lithium.”
A writer on the investment website Seeking Alpha reported on the bill draft request Wednesday morning.
The only fully active lithium operation in Nevada is near Silver Peak in Esmeralda County. There are known deposits in Humboldt County as well.
Wheeler said lithium extracted from Nevada is shipped overseas for processing then shipped to the U.S. and elsewhere for use in products.
The tax breaks would cover processing equipment to encourage companies to complete the production cycle entirely in Nevada, he said.
“We are going to try and get some tax breaks for exploration and production,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler said any losses to the state from the sales tax break would be offset by gains in mining taxes from expanded production, although he didn’t have an independent analysis to support the assertion.
To continue reading please click link http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2017/01/18/nevada-lawmakers-push-tax-break-lithium-development/96748908/