Arizona Greyhound Racing Not Paid State Taxes Since 1995
Posted on December 24th, 2007 by NoMoreRacing
Show me the money! Arizona has a huge budget deficit. Maybe because we’re a border state but maybe because the AZ greyhound racing industry and horse racing industry has not paid state pari-mutuel taxes since 1995. Damn! We are tax payers, why not these businesses? Greyhound racing is not a non-profit organization nor is it a church.
Help! Do our politicians have their heads in the sand?
Arizona is facing a huge budget crunch and you can read the audit report here as to why and how the Arizona greyhound racing industry gets away with not paying state pari-mutuel taxes.
If you pay taxes in Arizona, you should be raging mad right about now! Time to protest by sending letters to the Honorable Janet Napolitano and your relected officials.
Here are some facts:
In 1994 tax relief legislation (Laws 1994, Chapter 370.8) was approved to assist the racing industry and is still in effect today. These tax laws were lobbied by the racing industry as relief from decreased revenues because of Indian casinos.
According to the Department of Racing analysis, the total value of all tax exemptions and tax credits that the industry received between fiscal yards 2001 through 2006 amounted to more than $44 million.
The official audit of the Department of Racing notes that track owners are earning millions of dollars a year in profit; 70% of all pari-mutuel wagering in Arizona is tax-free and only one out of four commercial racetracks in Arizona has paid any state pari-mutuel taxes for several years. Guess this means 3 of the commercial racetracks are not paying any taxes on revenues from pari-mutuel wagering. Sweet deal. Seems as if the track has had a free run on our dollar.