Casino Gambling In Nevada Is King, Governor Drops Tax Plan

In the state of Nevada the law is very simple. Whatever the casino owners want, that is what they will get. In another sign of how powerful the casino industry is in the state, Governor Jim Gibbons has dropped his proposed casino tax plan.

The plan would have required casinos to pay the taxes on "markers, or credit that they have extended to their customers immediately. Currently, the law states that the casinos must pay the taxes when they receive payment for the markers.

Governor Gibbons estimated that the state could add $31 million to its budget simply by making the casinos pay up front. The tax rate is 6.75 percent in Nevada. The opposition to this plan quickly lined up against the governor.

A spokesman for Gibbons said this week that he will not be pursuing the issue any further. He cited the economy as the reason for backing off, but a closer look gives more insight into why the governor backed down.

Nevada Resort Association President Bill Bible gave reasons for why this plan would be ineffective. He likened the situation to a person paying taxes on money they have not yet made. Except for the fact that the average person does not know if they will still have a job in the coming year. The casino knows it will get the money they lent.

Another reason Bible gave in opposing the plan was that casinos would not offer as much credit if they knew they had to pay the tax up front, and that would hurt the casino industry even further.

So the casinos are once again holding the lawmakers hostage. If they reduce credit, it will be less money for the state when gambling slows down. Therefore, Nevada cannot move forward with their plan.

It may not be long until casino owners in Nevada start realizing that they no longer have a monopoly on casino gambling in the US. While before they have been able to control everything, they may soon find that their aggressive ways will only work within their own states' government.

February 21, 2009
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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