| Missouri legislators want to increase taxes on casinos to make up for shortfalls in veterans’ homes funding, created when lawmakers tapped those funds for other purposes.
The proposed additional $1 per-patron admission fee would amount to a bottom-line hit of $53 million a year in new taxes for Missouri casinos, which already contribute nearly $500 million in gaming tax revenue a year. Such a hit could necessitate cuts in casino marketing and capital projects. If passed, this tax legislation also could impact jobs at the state’s 12 casinos, which now employ more than 11,000 Missourians. The gaming industry has contributed more than $160 million in fee revenue to the Missouri Veterans Commission Capital Improvement Trust Fund since gaming began here in 1994. Last year, the veterans’ fund received $6.6 million from the state’s share of casino admission fees, a $2 per-visitor fee that is paid by the casino companies. Missouri should not single out one industry for increased taxes, particularly not an industry that already generates more tax money for the state than all of the other 60,000 Missouri corporations combined. Mike Winter, Executive Director |
Source: Missouri Gaming – Articles