Imperial Pacific facing new casino gaming revenue tax plan

Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific Holdings International (IPI) is once again facing threats from local politicians about gaming revenue taxes.

On Tuesday, Representative Edwin Propst gave an address to the Rotary Club of Saipan in which he announced plans to launch an initiative petition that would impose a new 10% tax on gaming revenue at IPI’s Imperial Pacific Resort Hotel Saipan.

The Marianas Variety quoted Propst saying that previous efforts to impose a gaming revenue tax on IPI’s operations had stalled in the House of Representatives, with two tax proposals failing to even make it out of committee. As a result, Propst believes the “painstaking and long process of an initiative petition” may be the best chance.

Propst offered no timeline for when his petition might get underway. Under the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) constitution, an initiative petition proposing a law change must garner the signatures of at least 25% of eligible voters. Assuming that happens, a subsequent vote must be approved by two-thirds of voters.