The US Internal Revenue Service has filed a federal tax lien against the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) for over $5.8 million in unpaid taxes dating back to 2022.
According to the Saipan Tribune, this was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands with the CCC chair, Edward Deleon Guerrero, describing the action as possibly a “mistake” by the IRS.
Deleon commented that the casino regulator for the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands is a “government agency, not a small business”, and that all employee payroll and tax withholding is handled by the Department of Finance.
Previously, the CCC had requested over $4 million in funding from the government to cover personnel, operations, and other costs. However, the revised budget only allocated $2 to the CCC for the 2025 financial year.
The CCC has been facing a budget crisis since the temporary closure of Imperial Pacific International (IPI)’s casino in 2020 due to the pandemic.
IPI had been the CCC’s sole source of funding through an annual $3.15 million regulatory fee, which IPI has failed to pay since 2020. This has led to the CCC’s office being temporarily closed since January 2023 due to lack of funds.
Imperial Pacific International’s listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) was officially canceled on June 17th.
The gaming operator is IPI still also facing claims of approximately $62 million, which it allegedly owes in casino license fees to the CNMI, relating to almost four years of its annual casino license fees.
