« Environment - "State Regulators, Environmentalists Eye Indiana Factory Farms" | Main | Ind. Courts - "Simon sues State of Indiana to force sales tax collections from Amazon.com" »
Friday, November 04, 2011
Courts - "Ruling could save Hoosier Park millions"
From the Nov. 2nd Anderson Herald Bulletin, some quotes from a long story by Abbey Doyle that begins:
ANDERSON, Ind. — If a decision made by a Delaware bankruptcy court stands, Hoosier Park Racing and Casino would owe about $10 million less in taxes each year, Chief Operating Officer Jim Brown said.See the story for more details.The ruling — issued Oct. 26 — could be appealed by the Indiana Department of Revenue up to 14 days after the issuance. An appeal hadn’t been filed as of Wednesday.
During Indiana Live’s bankruptcy proceedings, the casino raised an issue of being unfairly taxed on money it doesn’t retain. The casino is currently in the middle of Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and raised the issue in late July about Indiana Department of Revenue’s interpretation of state tax law. Hoosier Park, which emerged from bankruptcy last month, joined the suit in August.
The racinos are required to set aside 15 percent of their revenue that goes directly to purses for horse racing and breed development for horse racing, Brown said. That money — although it goes directly to the racing industry and never to the racino — is still taxed as revenue.
Hoosier Park has long contended the practice was unfair, said John Keeler, general counsel for Centaur Holdings LLC, the racino’s parent company. But Hoosier Park officials have never raised the issue in court; instead the organization has lobbied “very hard” to legislators where the racino has always felt as the most appropriate venue to “battle it out,” Keeler said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 4, 2011 12:56 PM
Posted to Courts in general