Harrah’s Philadelphia, the Caesars Entertainment racino six miles south of Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania, has been delivered its first property tax bill in the seven years since it opened. Many think the casino will go to court to have it reduced.
The racino, originally called Harrah’s Chester, was part of the state’s Keystone Opportunity Zone project, which exempted new developments from real estate taxes for several years in exchange for the benefits of the new construction to local governments. The Harrah’s Opportunity Zone status expired in December, after which the 65-acre property was assessed at a value of $218 million.
That resulted in tax bills of $1.6 million from the city of Chester, $2.8 million to the Chester Upland School District and $1.22 million to Delaware County so far for 2014. Last Friday was the deadline to appeal the assessment in county court. (Harrah’s would still be responsible for the county tax, even if an appeal was filed.) As of press time, the casino gave no indication on whether or not an appeal would be filed.
The city tax would represent 20 percent of Chester’s budget.
In the past, several casinos both in Pennsylvania and Atlantic City have appealed real estate tax assessments on the basis of slumping revenues from the properties, which would be the case with Harrah’s Philadelphia.
