The Lake County Assessor's Office announced Monday it has settled all pending tax appeals with Majestic Star Casino and has agreed to assessed values for its real property for 2015 through 2017.
The deal includes a $5.2 million refund of taxes and interest to the casino. The amount is $2.2 million less than what was ordered by a federal court in December 2013.
Assessor Jerome Prince said the settlement was a long time coming and began before he took office. He described the settlement agreement as "positive" for both sides.
"This settlement concludes over five years of litigation and provides assurance of a steady stream of tax payments for the next four years," Prince said.
In 2013, U.S. District Judge Leonard P. Stark, in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, affirmed a ruling by a bankruptcy court that sided with the casino, which argued the county assessor overvalued the casino's two boats moored at Buffington Harbor in Gary between 2006 and 2010. Majestic Star filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
The county argued the bankruptcy court used inaccurate values of the gaming boa
ts saying they should have been assessed at market value at about $55 million instead of the much lower salvage valuations of $6.29 million for Majestic Star I and $5.58 millioMajestic Star will receive payment of about $5.2 million in tax refunds and interest, with $4 million to be paid now and the remainder in credits over two years after adjustments are made for additional taxes due 2012 to 2014.
In return, Majestic Star has agreed to dismiss all tax appeals for all years prior to 2015. The company also has agreed that its real property -- including the two riverboats – will be valued at $67 million for tax years 2012 and 2013.
That property will be valued at $55 million per year for tax years 2014 to 2017 following the sale of about 190 acres by the casino in the summer of 2014.