NY Horsepeople Speak Out On Surcharge
During a New York State budget presentation on Tuesday, February 1, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a 2.75 per cent surcharge on race purses. In turn, horsepeople have said the move will offset gains from anticipated
gaming revenue.
A report cites New York Racing Association Board Member Rick Violette as saying that purses have already fallen 20 per cent from their 2009 levels.
Violette, who is also a trainer and the president of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, was quoted as saying, "It’s a 2.75 per cent decrease in purses on top of a 20 per cent decrease. It’s piling on. I understand the governor has a huge budget problem. He’s looking for ways to fill that ($10 billion) gap. But if raising taxes is bad for business, then how is a new tax for New York horse owners good for business?"
According to the article, a fact sheet from the state Division of Budget says, "Moneys from this surcharge will be directly deposited in the Regulation of Racing account, which, when combined with cost containment actions undertaken by the racing board, will eliminate the account’s deficit and will ensure that the cost for the board’s regulatory activities are fully borne by the racing industry rather than by taxpayers."
(With files from The Saratogian)
The NY horsepeople should be
The NY horsepeople should be thankful that it is only a 2.75% surcharge that Governor Cuomo is suggesting, let us not forget that the race game in new york is heavily funded from slot revenue so this 2.75% surcharge is just a little slice of the slot revenue that is being taken away from them. As province's and states continue to struggle more and more with there budgets in the future there will be much bigger amounts of the slot revenue taken from them,a 2.75% cut will seem like a picnic in the not to distant future as more and more government officials come to the realization that there is no point in throwing all this money towards an industry that is not willing to help itself in any way, shape or form. The slot revenue will someday be used for the greater public good and the racegame will once again only have themselves to blame, although they will never point the finger of blame at themselves as they are very reluctant to take any responsibility for the state of decline that the industry is in.