Crown Resorts’ tax dispute headed for court

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd’s (CWN.AX) dispute over a A$362 million ($270 million) tax bill is scheduled to be heard in an Australian court next month, legal filings show, after the tax office refused leniency.

The amount, which is 5 percent more than Crown’s normalized 2017 net profit, comprises back taxes and penalties. It was levied on the company, 46-percent owned by billionaire James Packer, because the tax office disputes the firm’s treatment of unsuccessful investments in Las Vegas between 2009 and 2014.

The dispute comes after a turbulent time for Crown, which abruptly quit plans for expansion in Las Vegas and in Macau after a Chinese crackdown on gambling resulted in the jailing of more than a dozen of its staff two years ago.

Court filings lodged earlier this month show the tax office dismissed Crown’s objections to the bill in May.

Crown, the world’s 7th-largest casino firm, will challenge that decision in a case to be heard in Melbourne on Aug. 31.

The case centers on tax deductions linked with Crown’s 2007 purchase of Vegas casino operator Cannery Casino Resorts for $1.75 billion and other investments that were part of a North American expansion plan the firm abandoned in 2016.

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