Senate could cut Delaware’s casino taxes
A bill that seeks a reduction on the taxes that casinos pay in Delaware is set to be discussed today by a state Senate committee.
US.- A state Senate committee is scheduled today to discuss a bill that would cut the revenue stream that lands in the state’s coffers from casinos. Supporters of the bill say that the new law could mean more job security for those who are employed in the First State.
While it is still unclear if the Senate Finance Committee will treat Senate Bill 144 as the agenda is not known, today’s meeting marks a deadline set in January by Senator Harris McDowell, chairman of the committee.
The state has collected approximately 43 per cent of statewide slot machine revenue since 2009. Delaware also collects almost 30 per cent of all gross revenue generated by table games and another US$3 million a year in table games licensing fees. The bill would significantly cut the taxes paid by the state’s three casinos.
Senate Bill 144 would cut the gross table game tax rate to 15 per cent and eliminate the licensing fee. It would also lift a ban that prohibits Delaware casinos from operating on Christmas and Easter. Despite having support, Senator Brian Bushweller said: “If we can readjust the formulas for the state’s take, we can stabilise the industry and preserved the revenue then that was going to the state and maybe even increase that revenue over a period of time.”
Denis McGlynn, CEO of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, said that the impact on the operations is important; the facility lost more than US$1 million last year, which marks the second annual net loss in four years. According to McGlynn, the deficit comes after the casino finished paying US$75 million to the state and the Delaware Standardbred Owners Association. “To me, that says everything there is to say about the fairness of the state’s current tax structure. When the state raised our taxes in 2009, we told them that we were going to struggle to survive. And that’s what you’re seeing now,” he added.
