Las Vegas Jails Strained by Billions in Property Tax Giveaways
Hotels, casinos, and stores stand illuminated along The Strip at dusk in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Even as Nevada’s real estate values climb back from their record plunge during the recession, a decade-old property tax cap that let casinos save billions of dollars has strained municipal budgets to the point where petty thieves are being released from jail early.
In Clark County, home to Las Vegas and 72 percent of the state’s residents, the tax limitation cost it $119 million in lost revenue since 2009. That, combined with the recession meant it had to fire 1,500 municipal workers. It still can’t afford to cover the daily cost of each inmate held in county jail.