INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Anderson would be a likely be a beneficiary to a tax overhaul plan that would permit live dealers for table games.
It was included in an amendment to an Indiana House bill designed to help the casino industry, which has been suffering from increased gaming in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan. It could have a significant impact on the amount of money local communities get from casinos, starting in 2017.
Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, is a co-author on the bill. She said she supports the amendment.
"At this point, I think we all realize this is still a work in progress, but we want to keep moving forward," Austin said.
Austin said she has talked to Hoosier Park, and the racino supports the amendment. She thinks the proposed tax plan could save the racino about $1 million per year.
"I hope that money can be put towards improvements and new jobs," Austin said.
As written, the bill will allow live gaming at Hoosier Park and Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville. It would also allow riverboat casinos to move onto land. The bill also grants tax abatements on capital projects completed by casinos and extends the free play program.
The bill's author, Rep. Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte, said the proposed changes are aimed at helping the casino industry, which has been struggling in recent years.
"The industry is going to continue to decline if we do nothing," Dermody told the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday.
The bill received approval from the committee, 20-3, but not before chairman Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, added an amendment with a significant impact on how the industry is taxed.
The amendment would do away with the admission tax by the end of 2016 and would introduce a new graduated tax rate that would help out smaller casinos that don't bring in as much revenue as the bigger ones.
To offset the state's losses by reducing the tax, the state subsidy to local governments will be eliminated, and new agreements will have to be reached before 2017, according to Brown.
"I think the admission tax has become antiquated," Brown said. "Casinos are destination locations now."
Currently, casinos have to pay a tax every time a person walks through the entrance, whether to gamble or not. With people coming to casinos for concerts, dinner, golf and vacations — in addition to gambling — the gaming industry said it is paying an increasing amount in admission taxes.
The bill will be up for second reading during Monday's House session, at which time more amendments can be offered. It will then be up for a full House vote. If passed, it will move to the Senate.