Nevada Casino Taxes About To Rise?
March 13, 2012 4:19 pmThe tax rate on Nevada’s casinos may be about to rise from its current 6.75%, if a group calling themselves ‘Nevadans for a Fair 9 Percent Gambling Revenue Tax’ manage to get their way.
The group launched the ballot initiative in February, and is now hoping to gather 72,352 signatures by November 13th in order for the petition to be sent before the 2013 Legislature.
At present, Nevada’s current gambling tax rate of 6.75% is the lowest of 17 states, which vary from 8% in New Jersey to 50% in Illinois.
If passed, around 170 of Nevada’s 443 licensed casinos would then be subject to the new 9% tax rate, which only applies to businesses making over $250,000 a month in gambling revenue. As the initiative’s figure head Monte Miller explains:
“Nevada’s individuals and small businesses are overtaxed. By fairly taxing the billions of dollars that big casinos win from high-rolling gamblers, we can lower taxes and fees on individuals and small businesses who are struggling during these tough economic times.”
Nevertheless, the group will still have to overcome some institutional resistance if it is to achieve its goal. Firstly, gambling has been legal in Nevada since 1931 but tax rates have increased just once by 0.5% in the past 23 years. Furthermore, opposition groups are highlighting the fact that Nevada’s casino market is already suffering and that a new maximum tax rate would compound the problem further leading to 7,500 industry job losses throughout the state.
Consequently, The Nevada Resort Association which represents big casino interests, has already filed a lawsuit in Carson City District Court requesting supporters are prevented from collecting signatures. As the lawsuit contends:
“It [the petition] utterly fails to inform voters of the breadth of these changes or the character and nature of existing taxes and fees, much less accurately describe its intended purposes and consequences.”