Editorial: Is it live, or tax exempt?

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2003 | 8:52 a.m.

Months after the Legislature approved a tax on live entertainment, the issue still provokes disagreement. Attorney General Brian Sandoval is expected this week to release a legal opinion on one of the major disagreements, which is whether nightclub disc jockeys are live entertainers. This is a form of entertainment that is growing in Las Vegas. Anticipated revenue from this source was used in calculating the total of $836 million estimated to be raised from new and increased taxes approved by the 2003 Legislature.

Our view is that disc jockeys are often very animated and that they help energize the audience. Many nightclubs import "name" DJs from other areas, knowing that they will attract large crowds. In that sense, they are "live." They should not be exempt from the tax for that reason alone. Also, traditional live entertainers could become even more of an endangered species if a tax-exempt alternative to them were readily available.