Energy Policy Act for Commercial Casinos Tax Opportunity

The Casino Ambience

During this time, casino operators in the United States developed new facilities and enlarged old ones. As a result of the economic slump, new commercial casino construction in the United States has come to a halt, and casino operators are instead concentrating on cutting costs at existing facilities.

The Tax Provisions of Section 179(D)

The IRC section 179(D) commercial building energy efficiency tax provisions, extended through 2013, are increasingly being used by sbobet88. For qualifying energy reductions in lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), and the building envelope, tax credits are available. (The building envelope includes the foundation, walls, roof, windows, and doors, which collectively influence energy transfer between the interior and exterior of the structure.)

Casino Properties’ Characteristics

Commercial casinos frequently include hotel resorts that provide enticing package deals for corporate and family consumers. Because of their enormous gaming floors, hotel occupancy rooms, meeting halls, and parking garages, casinos are particularly well-suited to. Each of these elements often takes up a lot of space, and the benefit for each of the three measures outlined above might be worth up to 60 cents per square foot. Most commercial casinos in the United States are above 100,000 square feet, with the smallest being around 50,000 square feet. MGM Grand on the Las Vegas strip is one of the largest, with nearly 2 million square feet. Hotel rooms are the most popular type of Section 179 structure.

Commercial casinos are commonly associated with the states of Nevada and New Jersey. While these two states have the highest commercial casino revenues, there are 12 commercial casino states in the United States: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. The American Gaming Association has made some of its promises to the energy conservation public. Boyd Gaming Corporation, Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., and MGM Mirage are among the casinos that have been reported. Cogeneration, ERV (energy recovery ventilation), more efficient HVAC units, replacing incandescent lights with energy-efficient lighting, replacing windows with energy-efficient daylighting systems, solar thermal storage, and countless other energy-saving measures are their projects.

Because of the fundamental rules for qualifying for the Section 179D lighting tax credit, casinos and, in particular, casino hotels are the most favored property types for the tax break. Compared to the 2001 ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers) building energy code standard, the rule set specifies a reduction of at least 25% in watts per square foot. Compared to the ASHRAE 2001 standard, a 40% watts-per-square-foot reduction results in a total tax benefit. Any hotel or motel lighting installation that satisfies the ASHRAE 2004 hotel/motel building code standard will immediately qualify for the maximum tax deduction.

Rooms Available

The bi-level switching requirement is required for most other building types under Section 179D tax requirements. Wired lighting is usually used in comparison to plug-in lighting. Casino hotel occupancy rooms have a significant benefit. They frequently employ plug-in lighting and are particularly exempt from the tax bi-level switching requirement because they serve as hotel and motel spaces. Because occupant rooms are often one of the most significant locations in hotel-casinos, sbobet88 may typically employ energy-efficient lighting to obtain substantial tax deductions.

Spaces in the Back of the House

In casinos, large kitchen, storage, and laundry (or “back of the house”) facilities have traditionally employed T-12 fluorescent lighting. Because this lighting is so wasteful compared to modern lighting, it will be unlawful to manufacture in the United States after July 1, 2010. 4 The cost of replacing these inefficient bulbs will rise after the manufacturing of previous generation lighting items stops. Simply put, casinos should consider replacing these lighting fixtures to save energy and money on lamp replacement. The lighting tax credit can be used to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these legally mandated product improvements.