Panel Examines Proposals To Tax Online Gambling
A key supporter of a law banning Internet gambling Wednesday found himself trying to defend the measure against those who questioned why the federal government shouldn't benefit by taxing an activity that many Americans are engaging in despite the prohibition, CongressDaily reported.
During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the issue, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who helped author the 2006 law set to go in effect in June, defended the measure that bans Internet gambling and requires credit card firms to block payments to offshore gambling operators.
House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., has introduced legislation that would establish a regulatory and enforcement regime for online gambling and a companion measure, offered by Ways and Means Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Jim McDermott, D-Wash., would establish a tax regime. Frank said he will mark up his bill in July.
Supporters of the bills say despite the 2006 law, Americans are still gambling online. This year, $12 billion has been deposited in offshore online gambling accounts, while offshore gambling operators have received about $5 billion a year in gross revenues, according to McDermott.
Frank and McDermott argued that bringing online gambling out of the shadows would help protect consumers while generating tax revenues and U.S. jobs.
"Prohibition hasn't prevented the millions of American who want to gamble from doing it," McDermott argued. "It has forced Internet gambling operators to work offshore; it has put consumers at risk, and it sends billions in dollars in revenue to other nations." To read more, click here. (Subscription required)
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