Illinois casinos get early tax cut due to pandemic

Legislators have allowed Illinois casinos to reopen with the early introduction of a tax cut aimed to help the sector’s recovery.

US.- Legislators in Illinois appoved legislation to bring forward a tax cut for casinos during the pandemic.

The state’s 10 casinos were allowed to reopen on July 1. A tax cut had already been agreed to come into effect upon the eventual opening of a new casino in Chicago, in order to mitigate the effects of increased competition, but the Illinois General Assembly decided to bring forward the measure to ease casino’s tax burden from the day of reopening from lockdown.

State Representative Bob Rita, for D-Blue Island, was a sponsor of legislation that included bringing forward the tax cuts for casinos. He told the site WBEZ: “I thought it was a reasonable change with them being shut down. There was no opposition, and this could be a little bit of a relief from what they’ve went through.”

The Illinois Gaming Board, which regulates casinos and betting activities in the state, warned lawmakers the change would “decrease state revenues.” It has not been announced how much revenue the tax cut represents for the state.

Tom Swoik, state-government lobbyist for the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, said: “We’ve been closed down so long, we wanted some kind of break in tax structure”. He said all casinos had furloughed employees when lockdown began in March.

While most casino workers in the state have been called back to work, many remain furloughed because of the restrictions on amenities such as valet parking and buffets.