Senator Neal renews push to remove live-entertainment tax exemption for professional sports; supporters cite transit funding

Senator Dina Neal told the Senate Committee on Revenue and Economic Development that she had reintroduced Senate Bill 431 to address what she called tax parity in Nevada’s live entertainment market. Neal told the committee the bill would remove the existing exemption for professional sports teams and close tax gaps for ticket resellers, and she said revenue from the changes could be directed toward public transit.

Neal described three core components of the bill: removing the sports-team exemption for the live entertainment tax, creating definitions and collection rules for marketplace facilitators and resellers, and adding civil remedies and enforcement authority for the Department of Taxation. She said an amendment she had circulated would allocate a portion of revenue from removing the exemption to fund public transportation tied to large events that disrupt transit access in Southern Nevada. Neal said the resale provisions could generate roughly $12 million annually and that re-including sports teams could produce about $54.5 million annually in state revenue as written.

Supporters at the hearing included community and environmental-justice groups, labor unions and transit advocates. Hector Areola of the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition described long commutes and gaps in transit service and urged the committee to support the bill to shore up funding for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. Representatives of the Sierra Club, SEIU Local 1107, Faith in Action, Make It Work Nevada and other groups also testified in support.

Opponents included representatives for the Vegas Golden Knights and minor-league Reno Aces. Alfredo Alonso, speaking for the Golden Knights, said the exemption was part of recruitment and affordability strategies for sports franchises and that removing it would raise ticket prices; he said the team would oppose elimination of the exemption. Eric Edelstein, representing the Reno Aces, said the exemption was created for minor-league baseball and warned that removing it could force higher ticket prices and reduce attendance for family-oriented games.

A Nevada Policy research assistant testified in opposition, characterizing the resale proposal as creating a risk of double taxation if not narrowly applied. During questioning, Senator Neal said the bill’s resale provisions target the resale “delta” (the markup) and that she was open to refining language. The committee did not take a committee vote on SB431 during this hearing; the transcript records the presentation and an extensive public-comment period but no committee action to advance or reject the bill.

Senator Neal closed by thanking supporters and opponents and urging continued conversation about revenue options for public transit, including both removal of the exemption and resale taxation.