How Gaming Benefits Nevada
General Business Taxes
In the fiscal year 2020, tax revenues within the state's General Fund reached $3.8 billion. Of that, the hospitality industry accounted for over $1.3 billion, or 35.0 percent of the total. When non-tax revenues within the state General Fund are added to tax revenues, the hospitality industry represented 33.8 percent of revenues. Gaming taxes were responsible for generating the majority of the industry-generated taxes with $622.9 million, which was 45.2 percent of the total General Fund revenue generated by the industry. The next largest contributor by the hotel-casino industry was sales and use tax, which generated $371.7 million during the fiscal year, accounting for 26.9 percent of total General Fund revenue generated by the industry.
NV Hotel-Casino Industry's Contribution to State General Fund Revenues - FY 2020
| General Fund Revenue Source* | Total Collections | Hotel-Casino Industry Contributions | Hotel-Casino Industry as a Share of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branch Bank Excise Tax | $2,608,720 | $0 | 0.0% |
| Business License Fee | $103,062,659 | $10,792,640 | 10.5% |
| Cigarette Tax | $156,694,742 | $25,492,455 | 16.3% |
| Commerce Tax | $204,983,790 | $37,663,297 | 18.4% |
| Gaming Taxes | $622,903,223 | $622,903,223 | 100.0% |
| Governmental Services Tax | $21,307,879 | $10,099,935 | 47.4% |
| HECC Transfer (Higher Education Capital Fund) | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | 100.0% |
| Insurance Taxes | $452,361,356 | $47,370,923 | 10.5% |
| Liquor Tax | $42,312,940 | $15,332,879 | 36.2% |
| Live Entertainment Tax | $91,335,734 | $72,175,787 | 79.0% |
| Mining Taxes and Fees | $57,158,980 | $0 | 0.0% |
| Modified Business Tax (MBT) – Financial | $34,306,987 | $0 | 0.0% |
| Modified Business Tax (MBT) - Mining | $22,921,979 | $0 | 0.0% |
| Modified Business Tax (MBT) – Nonfinancial [1] | $585,374,301 | $105,800,175 | 18.1% |
| Other Tobacco Tax | $23,200,047 | $3,774,384 | 16.3% |
| Transportation Connection Excise Tax | $19,868,720 | $6,954,052 | 35.0% |
| Real Property Transfer Tax [2] | $100,266,873 | $0 | 0.0% |
| Sales and Use Tax | $1,263,939,457 | $371,706,602 | 29.4% |
| Total Tax Revenue | $3,809,608,386 | $1,335,066,352 | 35.0% |
| Other Revenue | $267,638,954 | $44,559,264 | 16.6% |
| Total | $4,077,247,340 | $1,379,625,616 | 33.8% |
Sources: Economic Forum; Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; Nevada Gaming Control Board, Quarterly Statistical Report; Department of Taxation Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation and Applied Analysis.
Note: *Reflects collections within the Nevada General Fund and excludes taxes, fees and other charges that inure to the benefit of other state and local municipalities; [1] The modified business tax is a tax on gross payroll, less a deduction for employer-provided health care coverage. Because the hotel-casino industry provides such a significant share of these benefits to its employees, the industry's share of modified business tax collections is lower than its share of employees; [2] Assumed to be zero due to a lack of available data.
2021 State Business Tax Climate Index
In the latest release by the Tax Foundation, Nevada ranks as the seventh best business tax climate in the nation. One major contributor to this tax friendly environment is that Nevada does not impose a corporate or individual income tax. This creates a low tax burden for both businesses and residents alike which allows the state to consistently rank as one of the best states to do business in.
Source: Tax Foundation.
Nevada's tax structure continues to be one of the least burdensome on the average citizen in the nation for the following reasons:
- Residents pay very low per capita taxes.
- Property taxes in Nevada are far lower than most states, and tax abatements that favor residential homeowners have widened the gap between classes of taxpayers.
- Tourists pay a significant portion of the sales tax.
Unlike other states such as California, Nevada does not have a corporate or personal income tax. Because of the gaming industry in Nevada, many of the additional taxes imposed on individuals and businesses in other states are not imposed in Nevada. Some of these taxes include:
- Personal income tax
- Corporate income tax
- Sales tax on food
- A general admissions tax
- Bank excise measured by income
- Bank share tax
- Special intangible tax
- Franchise tax on income
- Inventory tax
Source: Nevada Taxpayers Association.
It Doesn't Stop With Gaming Taxes...
Hotel-casino companies continue to hold the top spots as Nevada’s largest property taxpayers. In Clark County, eight of the top ten appraised taxpayers were hotel-casino operating companies, including the state’s largest property taxpayer, MGM Resorts International which has an appraised property value of $10.2 billion. In Washoe County, four of the top ten appraised taxpayers were hotel-casino operating companies. Peppermill Casinos Inc. was the top property taxpayer in Washoe County with an appraised property value of $330.2 million.
Largest Ad Valorem (Property) Taxpayers
| Taxpayer | Assessed [1] | Appraised [2] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County | |||
| 1 | MGM Resorts International | $3.56 B | $10.16 B |
| 2 | Caesars Entertainment Corp. | $1.86 B | $5.30 B |
| 3 | NV Energy | $1.75 B | $5.00 B |
| 4 | Las Vegas Sands Corp. | $1.06 B | $3.03 B |
| 5 | Wynn Resorts Limited | $0.85 B | $2.43 B |
| 6 | Station Casinos Inc. | $0.78 B | $2.23 B |
| 7 | Howard Hughes Corp. | $0.47 B | $1.34 B |
| 8 | Boyd Gaming Corp. | $0.43 B | $1.22 B |
| 9 | The Blackstone Group | $0.32 B | $0.91 B |
| 10 | Hilton Grand Vacations | $0.29 B | $0.84 B |
| 11 | Golden Entertainment Inc. | $0.28 B | $0.81 B |
| 12 | Universal Health Services Inc. | $0.25 B | $0.73 B |
| 13 | Picerne Real Estate Group | $0.25 B | $0.71 B |
| 14 | Brookfield Property Partners | $0.25 B | $0.71 B |
| 15 | Prologis | $0.24 B | $0.68 B |
| 16 | Gaughan South Limited Liability Co. | $0.23 B | $0.66 B |
| 17 | Invitation Homes | $0.22 B | $0.66 B |
| 18 | Harsch Investment Properties | $0.22 B | $0.62 B |
| 19 | Ovation Development Corp. | $0.22 B | $0.62 B |
| 20 | World Market Center Las Vegas | $0.21 B | $0.61 B |
| Washoe County | |||
| 1 | Apple Inc. | $123.22 M | $352.004 M |
| 2 | Peppermill Casinos Inc. | $115.58 M | $330.22 M |
| 3 | Icon Reno Property Owner Pool 3 NE | $72.31 M | $206.60 M |
| 4 | Gage Village Commercial Dev LLC. | $63.14 M | $180.39 M |
| 5 | Toll NV Limited Partnership | $62.58 M | $178.81 M |
| 6 | Golden Road Motor Inn Inc. | $50.80 M | $145.15 M |
| 7 | Circus & Eldorado Joint Venture | $49.98 M | $142.81 M |
| 8 | MPT of Reno LLC | $47.99 M | $137.13 M |
| 9 | Lennar Reno LLC | $36.70 M | $104.87 M |
| 10 | Red Sparks SPE LLC | $33.45 M | $95.56 M |
| 11 | AGNL Slots LLC | $32.03 M | $91.51 M |
| 12 | HR Lake Tahoe Owner LLC | $28.99 M | $82.83 M |
| 13 | D.R. Horton Inc. | $28.04 M | $80.10 M |
| 14 | Icon Reno Property Owner Pool 6 West | $25.71 M | $73.46 M |
| 15 | Charles River Laboratories Inc. | $23.46 M | $67.03 M |
| 16 | Smooth Bourbon LLC | $22.43 M | $64.09 M |
| 17 | G&I VII Reno Operating LLC | $22.42 M | $64.05 M |
| 18 | DWF V Summit Club Holdings Inc. | $21.51 M | $61.44 M |
| 19 | Arrowcreek Venture LLC | $19.04 M | $54.39 M |
| 20 | S.W. Commerce Reno LLC | $18.58 M | $53.07 M |
Sources: Clark County's Assessor's Office, Secured and Unsecured Tax Rolls; Washoe County Assessor's Office, Real Property Assessment Roll. Notes: [1] Assessed value reflects 35 perfect of appraised value. [2] Appraised value reflects the cash value of land and replacement cost of improvements.