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Bingo! Legislators Seek Quicker Way To Change Gambling Law
LITTLE ROCK - Lawmakers have talked at length but so far can't find a
quick way to modify a fee on charitable gambling that is on track to
bring in more money than the state says it needs to oversee the
operations.
State officials say any changes to the law must be made by the Legislature, but lawmakers aren't set to meet again until 2009.
Until then, charities say they will continue to give less to their causes because of the fees. A spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Springdale said in January his group is losing about $1,500 a month because of the tax.
Voters in 2006 approved a constitutional amendment legalizing charitable bingo and raffles. Act 388 of 2007 legalized charitable gambling through bingo and raffles and established a method of taxing the games.
Any charitable group that runs either a bingo or raffle must purchase a license or risk prosecution. Those who run a bingo game must additionally pay a 1-cent tax on each bingo "face" sold and a 10 percent tax on all bingo equipment.
A bingo card can contain several faces - or squares. Each face is a playing area.
The state estimated it would need $700,000 annually to administer the law, but at almost $600,000 has been collected since July 1.
Legislators discussed solutions last month. Rep. Rick Green, R-Van Buren, asked Finance Deputy Director Tim Leathers if he thought the tax was excessive.
"It could generate over $1 million ... if continued at this pace, but we think a lot of these taxpayers bought a lot of cards upfront, and we got a big windfall," Leathers said, adding that he and other officials expect the amount generated by the tax to taper off by the end of the fiscal year June 30.
Department officials say tax proceeds are being used to cover administrative costs of overseeing bingo operations in the state. The state hired five new employees to monitor bingo operations and has set the new division's annual budget at about $700,000 a year. Since July 1, when the games began, the tax has generated almost $600,000, DF&A said.
Green and Tracy Pennartz, D-Fort Smith, both raised the possibility of reducing or eliminating the tax the Legislative Council meeting.
"My concern is, we don't want to tax our local community programs like this so that they can't contribute scholarships and things like they've been doing," Pennartz said.
The Morning News's Christopher Spencer contributed to this report.
Written by Rob Moritz
www.nwaonline.net
State officials say any changes to the law must be made by the Legislature, but lawmakers aren't set to meet again until 2009.
Until then, charities say they will continue to give less to their causes because of the fees. A spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Springdale said in January his group is losing about $1,500 a month because of the tax.
Voters in 2006 approved a constitutional amendment legalizing charitable bingo and raffles. Act 388 of 2007 legalized charitable gambling through bingo and raffles and established a method of taxing the games.
Any charitable group that runs either a bingo or raffle must purchase a license or risk prosecution. Those who run a bingo game must additionally pay a 1-cent tax on each bingo "face" sold and a 10 percent tax on all bingo equipment.
A bingo card can contain several faces - or squares. Each face is a playing area.
The state estimated it would need $700,000 annually to administer the law, but at almost $600,000 has been collected since July 1.
Legislators discussed solutions last month. Rep. Rick Green, R-Van Buren, asked Finance Deputy Director Tim Leathers if he thought the tax was excessive.
"It could generate over $1 million ... if continued at this pace, but we think a lot of these taxpayers bought a lot of cards upfront, and we got a big windfall," Leathers said, adding that he and other officials expect the amount generated by the tax to taper off by the end of the fiscal year June 30.
Department officials say tax proceeds are being used to cover administrative costs of overseeing bingo operations in the state. The state hired five new employees to monitor bingo operations and has set the new division's annual budget at about $700,000 a year. Since July 1, when the games began, the tax has generated almost $600,000, DF&A said.
Green and Tracy Pennartz, D-Fort Smith, both raised the possibility of reducing or eliminating the tax the Legislative Council meeting.
"My concern is, we don't want to tax our local community programs like this so that they can't contribute scholarships and things like they've been doing," Pennartz said.
The Morning News's Christopher Spencer contributed to this report.
Written by Rob Moritz
www.nwaonline.net
