We get this question frequently (and we answered it in the November 2005 Las Vegas Advisor), precisely because the taxes and fees on car rentals in Las Vegas are so outrageous. You're not getting ripped off, if what you mean is that the rental-car companies are adding taxes and fees without authorization. They're not. But you are getting ripped off, if what you mean is that the taxes are so high. Still, short of driving in from wherever you live, if you want to rent a car when you get here, you have to pay.
Here's the breakdown.
Nevada sales tax for car rentals is 7.75%. But all car rentals also require that you pay a 10% concession recovery fee, a 6% government license surcharge, a 4% license recovery fee, and 2% to fund the building of a performing-arts center and a training facility for culinary workers, plus a $3-per-day (or more) customer facility fee.
So, all told, non-locals pay 29.75% of the rental-car bill in taxes, plus $3 a day, to rent a car in Las Vegas. Locals, exempt from the 2% arts fund, pay the 27.75%, plus $3 per day.
If you don't have to pick a car up at the airport and would be able and willing to go to one of the car rental offices in town, you might find that you get a better deal. The customer facility charge is a fee that the on-airport concessionaire is required to collect and pay to the airport and does not apply at non-aiport rental offices, while it's often — but not always — the case that you'll find a lower base rental rate outside of the airport.
