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Casino communities in Northwest Indiana can breathe a temporary sigh of relief after state lawmakers Wednesday dialed back proposed changes in the distribution of gaming revenues.
House Bill 1350 was amended to delay the reduction of supplemental admission tax payments to local governments until at least July 2019, and then only reducing the annual $48 million distribution by $6 million over two years instead of an $18 million cut this July.
As originally written, Hammond, East Chicago, Gary, Michigan City, Lake County, LaPorte County, the county tourism agencies and the Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy stood to lose a collective $9.8 million if the proposal became law.
The revised legislation also delays until July 2018 the planned replacement of the $3 admission tax at riverboat casinos with an additional 3 percent wagering tax.
Likewise, Indiana casinos still would be subject to "double taxation," with paid wagering taxes counting as income for tax purposes, until next summer.
State Rep. Todd Huston, R-Carmel, said he didn't fully realize how much local governments rely on gaming revenues until he worked with stakeholders from the Region and elsewhere to revise his original proposal.
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He concluded that it's in everyone's best interest to give local communities a "soft landing," with time to make forward-looking budget adjustments, since the supplemental gaming revenue provided by the state since 2002 may not always be available.
"Quite honestly, $48 million is more than half a percent of the K-12 (school) funding formula, and if we ever had a financial problem that'd be a quick place to go find $48 million to put in K-12," Huston said.
His rewritten legislation passed the Public Policy Committee, 9-1. It next goes to the Ways and Means Committee for further review of the financial impact.
House Bill 1350 was amended to delay the reduction of supplemental admission tax payments to local governments until at least July 2019, and then only reducing the annual $48 million distribution by $6 million over two years instead of an $18 million cut this July.
As originally written, Hammond, East Chicago, Gary, Michigan City, Lake County, LaPorte County, the county tourism agencies and the Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy stood to lose a collective $9.8 million if the proposal became law.
The revised legislation also delays until July 2018 the planned replacement of the $3 admission tax at riverboat casinos with an additional 3 percent wagering tax.
Likewise, Indiana casinos still would be subject to "double taxation," with paid wagering taxes counting as income for tax purposes, until next summer.
State Rep. Todd Huston, R-Carmel, said he didn't fully realize how much local governments rely on gaming revenues until he worked with stakeholders from the Region and elsewhere to revise his original proposal.
Get news headlines sent daily to your inbox
He concluded that it's in everyone's best interest to give local communities a "soft landing," with time to make forward-looking budget adjustments, since the supplemental gaming revenue provided by the state since 2002 may not always be available.
"Quite honestly, $48 million is more than half a percent of the K-12 (school) funding formula, and if we ever had a financial problem that'd be a quick place to go find $48 million to put in K-12," Huston said.
His rewritten legislation passed the Public Policy Committee, 9-1. It next goes to the Ways and Means Committee for further review of the financial impact.