All counties would give up some cash under legislation to help casinos
By Lesley Weidenbener
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS – The Senate voted Thursday to strip about $6 million in gambling money away from local governments as part of legislation meant to boost the casino industry.
Sen. Johnny Nugent, R-Lawrenceburg, said Thursday that all counties should share in lost revenue that comes from trying to help the state’s casino industry compete with gambling operations in other states. Photo by Lesley Weidenbener, TheStatehouseFile.com
The money comes from about $33 million in admissions taxes that the state has been sending to counties without casinos for a decade.
But Republican Senator Luke Kenley of Noblesville said that all communities must share in the effort to help casinos compete against out-of-state gambling operations. Already, Senate Bill 528 strips millions of dollars away from the communities where casinos are located and creates new tax breaks meant to help the gambling operations compete against casinos in other states.
“We’ve tried to balanced this,” Kenley said. “We want everyone who’s getting some return on this – the state, the counties with casinos, the counties without casinos – to put something into helping them.”
The bill is now eligible for a full Senate vote, which is expected next week.
Currently, the $33 million in admissions tax revenue is currently divided among non-casino counties based on population. The change could mean a $1 million loss in revenue for Indianapolis and lesser amounts for counties across the state.
Communities that are home to the state’s 13 casinos are set to lose $27 million in total under the legislation. That’s money the state is currently paying them under a decade-old deal that under capped the revenues that local communities collect from wagering and admissions taxes but also guaranteed they’d never receive less than the amounts they collected in 2002.
The state made that promise when riverboat tax revenue was at one of its highest levels and lawmakers believed it would continue to grow. But recently, an economic downturn and competition from other states has depressed those revenues and the state is consistently paying out some of its gambling taxes to local governments to make good on the guarantees.
Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said Thursday that the state and all counties will have to lose some gambling tax revenue so the state can try to boost the casino industry. Photo by Lesley Weidenbener, TheStatehouseFile.com
Before Thursday, the bill would actually have taken as much as $48 million away from those counties, but Kenley amended the legislation to reduce the impact.
The bill would also:
- Permit the state’s racetrack casinos offer table games with live dealers. Currently, table games are currently available only electronically.
- Requires Indiana Live in Shelby County to make payments for three years to the casino in French Lick. That’s to make up for business that could be lost when Indiana launches live table games.
- Eliminates the admissions tax paid each time a person goes through the turnstiles and increases the supplemental wagering tax to make up the revenue.
- Create a tax credit of up to $40 million annually for casinos that invest in their properties.
- Reduces tax rates for the state’s lowest-revenue casinos.
Lesley Weidenbener is managing editor from TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
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February 22, 2013 - 8:44 am
This is another money grab by our State Senators. They tout continue to say this is money “the State sends to counties” but they forget who sends the money to the State! The counties that are getting the free money from the state (and the riverboat communities), including Indianapolis and Marion County, have none of the associated costs that go with having a casino in your county…crime, police, fire, ems, traffic, utilities, wear and tear on infrastructure, and so on. It is just unimaginable that riverboat counties have to continue fight, even with their own State Senators (Mr. Nugent) to keep the money that is needed to continue to maintain and grow the communities that send so many millions of dollars to Indianapolis and other counties that bear none of the associated burdon
February 22, 2013 - 1:33 pm
One scam after another seems to emerge from Indianapolis these days. Was it not totally foreseeable that these casinos would experience competition and start to see diminishing returns? Was the only upside to allowing these businesses into the state not to generate revenue for local and state governments, at whatever cost to those foolish enough to waste their money in them? Now that they are losing money, our legislators will take away the local revenues in order to prop up these losing private concerns. I thought Republicans were free market guys.
February 22, 2013 - 3:29 pm
Mr. Abdon hit the nail on the head! The State of Indiana continues to dictate revenue cuts to local government, but has no suggestion for “revenue” replacement. As a 14-year city clerk I am consistently fiscally responsible and I am now expected to “do more with less” for my community. It has been rumored that the State of Indiana is so much more fiscally stable than other states, if this is the case, than why is it that the State continues to TAKE from local government and smaller communities? This has to stop!