Gaming:

Henderson sues Station Casinos and the state in tax dispute

The city of Henderson is suing the state and Station Casinos, the latest move in the fight over taxation of comp items and discounts provided to customers by Nevada casinos.

The city filed suit Oct. 23 in Clark County District Court against the state Taxation Department, the Nevada Tax Commission and Station, which has several casinos in Henderson, including Sunset Station, Green Valley Ranch Resort and Fiesta Henderson.

The city's lawsuit seeks to overturn part of an Oct. 19 decision by the Tax Commission about the taxation of certain comps and discounts.

The Tax Commission ruling said free meals related to Station's Boarding Pass loyalty program are taxable retail sales. Henderson isn't challenging that part of the ruling.

But the Tax Commission separately found that "meals that involved guest opportunity comps, 2-for-1 coupons and promotional comps coupons'' were not retail sales and that taxes the casinos paid for those had to be refunded. That's the part of the ruling the city of Henderson is challenging.

The city charges that the Tax Commission finding is erroneous. It says items are taxable because "they were transferred for consideration.''

The Tax Commission didn't specify how much money is at issue or how much may have already been collected by the state and the city.

The Tax Commission ruling covered Station properties both in and out of Henderson. City spokesman Bud Cranor said he couldn't speculate why other local governments, such as Las Vegas or Clark County, weren't involved in the lawsuit.

''Our interest is simply due to the fact the case pertains to a review of a revenue source to the city that equates to millions in future revenues," he said.

A spokeswoman for Station Casinos said the company had no comment on the lawsuit, which appears to have industry-wide ramifications as casinos regularly offer coupons and comps outside of players' club programs.

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