Atlantic City will soon get $32 million in unpaid taxes from the former Revel Casino Hotel.
A bankruptcy court judge on Thursday issued an order permitting the city to move forward with efforts to collect the unpaid taxes from the casino. The judge also rejected the casino's effort to re-open a past tax settlement that Revel now claims was unfair.
Judge Gloria Burns permitted Atlantic City to pursue the tax debt. The debt will most likely be paid when Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management completes its $110-million purchase of the casino from bankruptcy court. A portion of the proceeds from the sale would be set aside in an escrow account to settle the tax debt.
According to a September court filing by the city, property taxes on casinos account for more than 60 percent of Atlantic City's annual tax levy. The $37 million due from Revel this year accounts for about 18 percent of the city's budget.
Atlantic City raised its tax rate by 29 percent this year, primarily because successful tax appeals from casinos reduced its tax revenue.
Revel opened in April 2012 at a cost of $2.4 billion, and never turned a profit. After filing for its second bankruptcy, its owners closed the casino resort on Sept. 2.