Kentucky account-wagering tax bill advances

A Kentucky legislative committee has approved a bill that would impose a 0.5 percent tax on wagers made by Kentucky residents through account-wagering operations, according to legislative records.

The House Appropriations and Revenue Committee unanimously passed the bill on Tuesday, sending it to the floor of the house. The bill’s chief sponsor is Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, a Democrat from Louisville.

Although 15 percent of the revenue raised from the tax would go to the state’s General Fund, the racing industry would receive the remaining 85 percent, with half of that amount going to tracks and the other half to purses. The bill contains a set of criteria to determine which track in Kentucky would receive the revenue, based on live racing and simulcast schedules and the geographic location of the person who placed the bet.

Bets by Kentucky resident at racetracks and off-track betting locations are currently subject to a state tax, but account-wagering bets are not. The bill’s sponsors say the tax would address that inconsistency.