\u00a0The smaller Blue Chip Casino, by comparison\u00a0will be paying\u00a0only 30 percent.<\/p>\n
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While few businesses typically welcome tax hikes, casino\u00a0companies in Indiana told lawmakers they\u00a0would prefer to pay 3\u00a0percent more on actual revenue, instead $3 on every customer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Opponents of the bill worried that the new tax could cost some municipalities. According to the nonpartisan Indiana Legislative Services Agency, the removal of the admissions tax could\u00a0cost\u00a0local governments in northwest Indiana up to $4.5 million over a five-year period. That’s because the supplemental wagering tax will be disbursed to communities proportionately across the state. The present $3 admission tax directs $2.10\u00a0to the local city and county where the entrance fee was collected.<\/p>\n
Northwest Indiana is home to five of the state’s 10 casinos. Of the $23.8 million in admissions taxes collected statewide in 2016, the northwest casinos Horseshoe Hammond, Ameristar, Majestic Star, Majestic Star II, and Blue Chip accounted for more than\u00a0$14.2 million.<\/p>\n
Numbers Game<\/b><\/h2>\n
HB 1350 will phase out the admissions tax over eight years, with each casino’s supplemental tax initially being determined based on their previous entrance numbers.<\/p>\n
Once the law is fully enacted, casinos will pay a\u00a0flat three percent supplemental tax. After crunching the data, it appears some casinos will benefit, while others will foot a larger tax bill.<\/p>\n
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Last month, for example, Blue Chip paid roughly $566,000\u00a0in admission taxes, and $4\u00a0million in wagering tax, on $13.5 million in revenue. But with HB 1350 in force, Blue Chip would have kept the $566,000 in admissions tax, and instead of paying a 30 percent on revenues, would pay 34 percent, for a total payment of\u00a0$4.4 million. For Blue Chip that amounts to a monthly\u00a0savings of nearly $162,000.<\/p>\n
Horseshoe Hammond, by contrast, the closest Indiana casino to Chicago, paid about $870,000 in admissions tax and $12.3 million in wagering tax on revenue of $35.1 million\u00a0in April. With the new law in place, their new tax responsibility comes out to $13.3 million, adding $184,000 to their overall liability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Indiana casinos are praising state lawmakers for changing the way the state taxes their riverboats. House Bill 1350, introduced in January by State Rep. Todd Huston (R-Hamilton County), eliminates a\u00a0longstanding $3 admissions tax\u00a0that casinos have been forced to pay for each patron that steps onto\u00a0their gambling floor. In its place, HB 1350 debuts a supplemental […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":50478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10,13,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Indiana Casinos Rejoice Over New Law Kicking Admissions Tax to Curb<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n