RJ reporter wins awards for exposing real estate transfer tax loophole
Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Eli Segall has earned national honors for his investigation of Nevada’s real estate transfer tax loophole, including an Excellence in Financial Journalism Award from the New York Society of CPAs last week.
It was the latest honor for his stories on how large property owners avoided paying real estate transfer taxes — taxes collected on nearly every other property transaction, including routine home sales. The avoidance costs the state untold millions of dollars every year.
Segall was a business reporter when he wrote the stories in 2022. He moved to the Review-Journal’s investigative team in April.
“Eli’s investigation of how transfer taxes are avoided was a tremendous community service,” Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook said. “This recognition is so well-deserved.”
Segall’s work won the Local category in the Excellence in Financial Journalism contest. The stories also won second place for “Public Service in Newspapers Not in a Top 20 Media Market” in the prestigious National Headliner Awards, presented by the Press Club of Atlantic City.
The investigation previously won first place in the 2023 Best of the West contest in the Business and Financial Reporting category. The story also prompted the Legislature to pass a bill closing one of the loopholes that Segall’s work identified.
“It’s a real honor to have my name among other talented reporters who also received awards from these organizations,” Segall said. “It took a lot of work to pull together the transfer tax series, and any journalist can tell you it’s nice to see your stories make an impact.”
Contact Arthur Kane at akane@reviewjournal.com and follow @ArthurMKane on Twitter. Kane is editor of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.