Delaware seeks table games tax relief
A gaming commission is set to recommend the reduction of taxes for table games at casinos in the First State.
US.- The Video Lottery Advisory Committee revealed that it will recommend the state to cut the table games tax rate from 9.5 percent to 15 percent. The initiative will help the three casinos in Delaware save millions.
Ed Sutor, CEO of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, said that the tax cut is more reasonable than asking to lower the 43.5 percent tax on slot machines. This move will help facilities in the state save millions of dollars, and Dover Downs’ numbers are living proof of it: during the first quarter the facility posted a loss, whilst the second quarter only brought US$32k in net profit. “We can’t sustain ourselves losing money.” said Sutor.
The Governor John Carney said that he is interested in finding some sort of tax relief for casinos, even if he believes that is too early to talk about proposals before the state can even form a budget for next year’s fiscal. Nevertheless, he reiterated that something has to be done because they can’t afford to lose the revenue that comes from gambling.
“It is really hard, because it probably means changing the formula in some kind of way that benefits them to the detriment [of the state], to a certain extent,” he said. Moreover, State Rep. Sean Lynn, D-Dover, added that the city needs a tax change as it counts with that money: “If one of our biggest electric customers go out of business, the City of Dover is going to have to make up those dollars in its general fund, somehow,” he said.
