Burning Man‘s misfortunes proceed to mount after its endorsed ticket resale platform mistakenly charged patrons an additional 9% tax, The San Francisco Customary studies.
The occasion’s Safe Ticket Change Program (STEP), powered by resale platform Tixel, erroneously utilized Nevada’s 9% “Live Entertainment” tax to secondary market purchases when this system launched in mid-Could, per The Customary. This meant patrons had been successfully taxed twice—as soon as in the course of the authentic buy and once more throughout resale—including roughly $70 to tickets that initially value $750 with charges.
Organizers additionally reportedly carried out a brand new tiered-pricing system lately that drew criticism for its lack of transparency.
The double-taxation situation represents one other stumble for the beleaguered occasion, which has confronted mounting challenges since its disastrous 2023 occasion, whereby tens of hundreds of attendees discovered themselves stranded within the Nevada desert after a heavy rainstorm walloped the Black Rock Metropolis metropolis. Burning Man on the time disseminated a “survival guide” after issuing a shelter-in-place directive.
Final 12 months marked the primary time since 2011 that the occasion didn’t promote out, adopted by a controversial $20 million funds shortfall that prompted the group’s CEO, Marian Goodell, to solicit group donations to “help secure the long-term of Burning Man.”
A Burning Man consultant confirmed in an announcement that Tixel had “accidentally charged” the duplicate tax and is now working to course of refunds.
“This issue is resolved and we anticipate STEP will continue to operate smoothly throughout the season,” Burning Man spokesperson Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley advised The Customary.
The incident underscores the operational challenges going through Burning Man because it makes an attempt to stabilize its funds whereas sustaining group belief lower than three months earlier than its subsequent gathering. The 2025 occasion is scheduled for August twenty fourth to September 1st.
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