Crown Resorts’ Australian Tax Dispute to be Heard in Court Next Month

The seventh largest casino firm in the world, Crown Resorts Ltd., will be taking their A$362 million ($270 million) tax bill dispute to the Australian court next month. This decision was made after the tax office refused leniency.

 

The tax amount is 5 percent higher than the company’s normalized net profit of 2017 and consists of penalties as well as back taxes. The Australian tax office argues how the casino operator treated unsuccessful investments between the period of 2009 and 2014 in Las Vegas. In a move to challenge this tax amount levied on them, Crown Resorts has taken the case to court and will be heard on August 31, 2018, in Melbourne.

 

As per court filings which were lodged earlier in July, it was shown that Crown’s objections to the tax bill were dismissed by the tax office back in May.

 

The case in detail

 

The tax bill case is centered on tax deductions which were made after Crown purchased a huge casino operator in Las Vegas known as Cannery Casino Resorts for a price of $1.75 billion. In addition, it is also linked with other investments which Crown made as part of their expansion plan in North America, but this was later stopped in 2016.

 

In its annual report of August 2017, the firms said that Crown considers and stands by the belief that they have paid the correct tax amount and is willing to pursue every platform, including court proceedings, if necessary, to help them prove that they are not in the wrong.

 

As of July 25, the company’s share was up by 0.2 percent, while the market was down by 0.3 percent.

 

A turbulent few years for Crown Resorts

 

The last few years were rough for the casino giant. This tax bill dispute isn’t the only huge drawback for the firm this year. Earlier in 2016, their plan to expand in Las Vegas as well as Macau was halted abruptly because of a crackdown by the Chinese police on gambling in their country, which resulted in the arrest of more than a dozen of Crown’s staff members.

 

It is unknown whether the casino firm, 46 percent of which is owned by the well-known billionaire James Packer, plans to pursue their expansion plan as of now. It seems their hand is full with the tax bill dispute.