A second casino has taken Warren County supervisors and the Tax Assessor’s Office to court, saying calculations of their property taxes are far too high.

Ameristar has appealed values on improvements at the area’s largest gaming venue placed by the board and the assessor for 2009. The court action, filed Monday, follows a similar protest by Riverwalk Casino in September.

Ameristar alleges discriminatory treatment for the $90,387,370 true value set by the county on a connecting structure between the casino and its parking garage and the formerly floating casino’s unused, cemented cofferdam. Taxes on that value translate to $1,662,359, which the casino argues is $437,842 too high when compared to its own calculations presented to supervisors during an administrative appeal last fall.

On Sept. 3, supervisors OK’d Assessor Richard Holland’s recommended $92.4 million true value on the improvements — a total higher than what the casino mentions in its formal appeal and 24 percent less than the value placed on the items by the county before the formal objection period ended July 31. County officials have said information from Ameristar came after that deadline. At a special-called county board meeting Sept. 2, the casino had argued for a value between $66.5 million and $82.7 million. In appeal documents, the casino says the improvements’ true value is no more than the low end of that estimate.

No judge has been assigned to the case. Ameristar is represented by Jackson-based Phelps Dunbar LLP. Riverwalk is represented in its case by Madison-based attorney James L. Martin.

Both casinos say Warren County is charging them more than “similarly situated taxpayers in the county” and Riverwalk contends the county failed to adhere to state Tax Commission guidelines.

Real and personal property taxes totaled $749,828.70 for Ameristar in 2008. Riverwalk’s property tax liability was $90,126.51 in 2008, but it did not open until October of that year.

High-end development in the past year, specifically the completion of the $100 million Riverwalk facility and equally expensive improvements at Ameristar, were cited when Holland calculated a 5.9 percent jump in land values in Warren County overall, despite plunging property values nationwide. A fourth of all parcels are revalued in Warren County each year, also often resulting in higher assessments and more taxes due even if tax rates remain unchanged and market prices fall.

The valuations set by Holland’s office are used to collect revenue for the county, the City of Vicksburg and the Vicksburg Warren School District. This year’s tax rates remain level for all three entities.

In addition to property taxes, casinos pay state-set and local taxes on revenue totaling 12 percent, and the City of Vicksburg collects a $150 per gaming position annual fee.

Property taxes are due this month on all real and personal property. It is the largest source of funds for county operations and the second-largest source for city operations.

*

Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com