Ohio Casino Proposal Has Low Tax Rate Compared To Other States

The state of Ohio has attempted unsuccessfully many times to get voters to approve casino gambling. Lawmakers are taking another shot at it and the proposal they are offering has a revenue tax rate that is low in comparison to other states.

The Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan is being proposed in light of the recession in the US. The plan would create jobs at a time when many people in Ohio are losing their employment. The tax rate for revenue from gambling, however, will only be thirty three percent.

"The decision (on the tax rate) was not based on what other states were doing, but rather what was fair for Ohio. Fairness was the biggest factor in coming up with this proposal,' said spokesman for the plan, Bob Tenenbaum.

The state of Maryland taxes casino revenue at the rate of a whopping sixty seven percent. Similarly, Pennsylvania has recently expanded their casino options and they are taxing revenue at fifty five percent.

The Ohio plan has an uphill battle already, with voters shooting down several proposals over the past decade. The low tax rate could be a potential killer for the plan this time around.

"It's not necessarily the plan I would have written, but I don't have millions of dollars to push the plan I would have written. Let me say that I was more enamored of the Learn and Earn proposal than I am of this one," said Senator Bill Seitz, who is a proponent of bringing casinos to Ohio.

March 21, 2009
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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