Gambling tax fails !!!
There is some disagreement in Concord about whether to cut taxes now or wait until the enormous projected deficit in the next budget is closed. But there is one new tax that everyone should be able to agree on eliminating right away: the gambling winnings tax.
In the last four years, Democrats raised or created a lot of taxes and fees. One of them was a new, 10 percent tax on gambling winnings of more than $600. Word quickly spread not only through New England, but also on poker websites and among horse and dog-racing fans. The impact was immediate. Betting in New Hampshire dropped off.
Last May, Maura McCann, director of marketing for the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, gave this analysis of the problem: “If a Massachusetts player comes into New Hampshire, let’s say they buy an instant ticket with a $10,000 prize. If they win, they would be subject to a federal tax of 25 percent, and the New Hampshire gambling winnings tax of 10 percent, and the Massachusetts income tax,” she said, “whereas if they play their own games in Massachusetts, they would be hit with only two taxes.”
Sales of state lottery tickets (which fund public schools) dropped, charitable poker playing dropped, and last November the Lodge at Belmont ended simulcast races and laid off 22 people, blaming the track’s loss of revenue on the gambling winnings tax.
Some tax cuts Republicans want to implement might take a while to have a stimulative effect on the economy. Repealing the gambling winnings tax would provide results immediately. Legislators should nix it as soon as they can.
Related posts:
Short URL: http://world-community-poker.com/?p=14826
Posted by Senior Editor on Feb 1 2011. Filed under Poker legislation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
