Gaming tax growth slow in third quarter
Pub Date: 6/1/2007
Third quarter video gaming tax collection figures released May 9 by the Gambling Control Division indicate the strong growth experienced over the last year has apparently cooled. The third quarter Fiscal Year 2007 is January-March, 2007.
Tax collections had been running at a healthy 6.5-7.5 percent growth range in the last couple of years, but edged up just 4.73 percent for the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter one year ago.
Tax collections were $15,322,204, an increase of $691,931 over the same period last year. First quarter collections were up $995,220 or 7.11 percent over the same quarter the year previous and the second quarter increased $1,061,409 or 7.59 percent.
However, Gaming Industry Association Executive Director Rich Miller said, "I think the impression that growth has cooled is misleading. If you look back you will note that this same quarter last fiscal year was itself a large increase, which gives a false picture of last quarter as weak.
"In fact," Miller said, "FY2007 is showing an overall growth rate of 6.45 percent for the year--a little behind last year, but certainly within the range of anticipated growth.
"Some slowing is always evident in years the legislature meets. Even with the more stable growth patterns the industry has been experiencing since 2001, the third quarter of legislative years is always a bit weaker than the trends."
Mark Staples, Legal and Government Affairs Counsel for the Montana Tavern Association, said, "You show me a revenue and jobs producing industry that has consistent, moderate growth in revenue and tax collections, year after year after year, as ours has, and I'll show you one that obviously has its tax rate calculated at just the right set point.
"We've said it before and it's once again proven true--15 percent works."
Since video gambling was brought entirely under state control in 1990, $623 million has been collected in taxes from video gaming machines. Last year gaming tax collections amounted to $56,831,588, an increase of $3.46 million from the previous year.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, June 2007, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.