RENO, Nev. (AP) — Organizers of the Burning Man counter-culture celebration are challenging the enforcement of a Nevada state tax that they say could cost them nearly $3 million.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports Burning Man officials said in a letter to the state Department of Taxation on Friday that the festival should be exempt from the recently amended tax on live entertainment.
Burning Man officials argue the tax shouldn't apply to them because they are not a provider of live entertainment.
The annual arts festival attracted about 80,000 participants this year to the Black Rock Desert 100 miles north of Reno.
Burning Man attorney Ray Allen says the 9 percent tax would total about $2.8 million. Organizers say they are postponing setting 2016 ticket prices until they hear back from state officials.