Saipan lawmakers, impatient with errant casino operator Imperial Pacific International, have proposed assessing a 10 percent tax on net gaming revenues at the operator’s Imperial Palace resort.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, the move came after it was revealed recently that IPI had paid just US$41,000 in business gross revenue taxes since July 2018—down from US$43.6 million in 2018.
Ralph Yumul, chairman of the House Gaming Committee, also wants to prevent the company from deducting unpaid credit from revenue in determining its tax obligations, which IPI had requested.
Marianas Variety reports that a bill introduced by Yumul last week states, “No deduction shall be allowed from gross revenues for the unpaid balance of any obligation or credit extended for gambling or gaming.”
It added that the bill would “discourage lending for the purpose of gambling by providing that unpaid balances on loans extended for gambling shall not be deducted from gross revenues.”
House Minority Leaders Edwin Propst said the government is being “actually very kind” to tax net instead of gross gaming revenue. He also said IPI would be allowed to use the US$15 million license fee it has already paid against its gaming tax obligations.
“I think we are being very fair and we look forward to hearing from them on this bill. But right now, the urgency is that IPI has not paid any taxes within almost a year,” he said.
