Let's Tax Ourselves Competitive
We've been following the Horse Racing Commission's expansion plans for months now. Their plans have evolved from doubling their staff to doubling their budget to a 150% budget increase.
The authors of the final report seem to really have Christmas on their minds.
Their ambitions have relaxed in some ways in the final report, asking for "only" a 67% budget increase, and proposing a variety of taxes and fees on racing and betting so that the $2 million dollar increase would "only" require a 37% increase in appropriated general funds. (41% if you count the current 4% cuts all agencies are facing.)
Oh, and they recommend building an equine testing and research lab that costs $5 million to construct and $3.5 million annually to operate, too.
From the Herald-Leader:
Instead, the task force recommended dedicating more revenue to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission through increased fees and taxes, such as:
- Increasing “takeout” – the money retained from bettors – on exotic and win-place-show bets;
- Requiring the owners of the top three finishers in races with purses over $10,000 to help pay for drug testing;
- Increasing the pari-mutuel tax on racetracks with an average daily handle of $1 million or more – traditionally Keeneland and Churchill Downs;
- Licensing “tote” companies and advance-deposit wagering companies;
- And, if other sources of funding are not found, increasing the reimbursements from racetracks to pay racing commission employees and to continue to pay for drug testing.
I'm not familiar with racing fees and taxes in other states, but it seems to me that, if Kentucky is having problems competing with other states, increasing the taxes on the most successful will only exacerbate the problem.
