Illinois to Increase Video Gambling Tax

Chicago’s governing body is planning to introduce major changes in its tax regime and video gambling is likely to witness a major tax hike. Up until now, the suburbs of Chicago had the lowest taxes in the region, but it could change soon.

The current charges include US$250 as application fee and a further US$50 as video gambling business licence fee. There is also a registration fee of US$150 per machine. As per the new tax regime, the registration fee would be US$1k per machine.

Authorities are revising an ordinance to get a vote on it before the annual May 1st application deadline, Village Administrator John Lobaito said.

 “We surveyed 25 communities and based on that survey it shows that our fees are a bit low,” he said in order to explain the decision.

Trustees agree that the machines should be taxed more heavily as other jurisdictions in the area charge them with fees around the US$1k mark. “They’re not doing too bad,” village Trustee Dawn Abernathy said as she researched how much money restaurants and machine operators make a year. “I agree, go to $1,000 per machine.”

Source: FocusGN