Casino operator Crown Resorts are scheduled to appear in court next month, as they challenge a AUS$362m ($270m) tax bill, after the tax office refused leniency.
The tax bill is 5% more than Crown’s normalised 2017 net profit; it is compromised of back taxes and penalties after the company’s expansion into Las Vegas proved unsuccessful.
The amended assessments relate to the tax treatment of some of the financing for Crown’s investment in Cannery Casino Resorts and other investments in North America, relating to period between 2009 and 2014.
Crown’s expansion plans were halted in 2016 after more than a dozen staff were accused of and jailed for promoting gambling in mainland China.
Crown have been fighting the bill since way back in 2016, and is set to be resolved after the tax office dismissed the operators objections in May.
Crown reiterates that it considers it has paid the correct amount of tax and intends to pursue all available avenues of objection (including, if necessary, court proceedings) to the amended assessments.
