Urgent Action IRS Proposal

[Lucky Larry]

Just received this email from our favorite casino re: the IRS proposed changes to IRS reporting from $1,200 to $600. Here is the direct comment link:

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDe ... -0006-0001

Dear Coushatta guest,

I am writing to you today to tell you about an important Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposal that, if enacted, will dramatically affect the amount of your winnings that are reported to the IRS. The proposal is to reduce the W2G mandatory reporting threshold to $600.

If you want to keep the winning threshold at $1200, you have until June 2 to SPEAK UP and SPEAK OUT against this proposal!

Here are five ways to take action:

1. Contact the IRS directly to voice your concern. Click the blue “COMMENT NOW!” box in the upper right corner.
Voice your concern now >

2. Let your Congressman know that you want him/her to speak out AGAINST lowering the threshold to $600. Find your Congressman’s contact information here >

3. Send a message to your Congressman on Facebook. Use this text: "As your constituent in (INSERT YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE), I’m asking you to please tell the IRS not to reduce the slot gaming winnings threshold from $1,200 to $600 because it would severely harm the customer experience and reduce state revenues."

4. Send a tweet to your Congressman. Tweet this text: Tell the IRS: Don't cut gaming winnings threshold, which would harm customers and reduce states revenues #NoMorePaperwork

5. Last, but not least, we encourage you to sign the petition from the American Gaming Association. Sign the petition now >

If this proposal is enacted, you will receive W2Gs on winnings that were previously unreported! Yes, every jackpot you hit that exceeds $599 will receive a W2G. Frequent, experienced players like you can easily see how this is more than a mere inconvenience! It would greatly undermine your gaming experience and eat up your precious playing time with excessive paperwork.

Further, this burdensome requirement, for taxpayers and for the IRS, would potentially cost states and cities significant tax revenues that pay for vital public services, such as teachers, firefighters, and road improvements.

There are ONLY FEW DAYS until the IRS’ June 2 deadline to hear from you... we urge you to TAKE ACTION NOW!

Yours very truly,

Jacque Romero
General Manager

[wildman49]

Thanks LL, I just got off the phone with my  Congressman's office here in Michigan!The problem we have here is there is no write off for state income tax so the state would take in more revenue and we all know the states needs more money.

[notes1]

thanks for the info. another stake in the heart of the casino business. as i have said so many times, governments only look at casinos as a revenue source. not as an entertainment revenue, where those who participate, should receive something of value, for the money/risk they take.  we cannot blame the casinos for this.

[Mr.Dawes]

Thanks for this post LuckyLarry. Here is the link for the American Gaming Association's petition. http://www.gettoknowgaming.org/irs-petition

[WhitneyReed]

Thanks for this post LuckyLarry. Here is the link for the American Gaming Association's petition. http://www.gettoknowgaming.org/irs-petition



Thanks Mr. Dawes! Just to make it clickable: http://www.gettoknowgaming.org/irs-petition

To me the worst part of this is just the huge pain in the ass it is to wait around for a hand pay; I regularly play $1x5 DB and $1x5 Deuces so having to wait on four aces or four deuces would suck. If they could modernize the system so that you could still keep playing but they'd mail you the tax form or something, that might be doable. I still can't believe, though, that the casino lobby isn't strong enough to squash this.

[Mr.Dawes]

I only play .25 denomination so currently I do not have to worry about hand pays and that is one of the reasons I hope this does not pass.I have also heard that the IRS wants casinos to automatically submit annual Win/Loss statements on every player whether you have W2G winnings or not! If that happens forget playing with players club cards. It is also a surprise to me that more than a dozen casinos have my email address and none have contacted me about this. I would think that they would reach out to all of their players about this. It makes me wonder if they think it could be good for them somehow. Or maybe they are just scared to get on the wrong side of the IRS and government regulators.Thanks WhitneyReed for making my link clickable.

[OTABILL]

From reading the proposed regulations, it appears to me that the existing guidelines will remain in place but IRS may propose to lower the limits to $600 in the future. I may be wrong but this paragraphs seems to support this perspective:

"Under the proposed regulations, the reporting thresholds for winnings from bingo, keno and slot machine play (other than electronically tracked slot machine play) remain the same as under the existing regulations. These thresholds are intended to reach a balance between reporting burden and compliance risk. Based on over 35 years of experience with the current thresholds, the IRS thinks they are sufficient at this time to verify correct reporting of wagering income. Accordingly, § 1.6041-10(b) of the proposed regulations provides that reportable gambling winnings means (i) $1,200 or more in the case of one bingo game or slot machine play, and (ii) $1,500 or more in the case of one keno game. However, advances in technology in the nearly four decades since the existing rules were adopted may overcome the compliance concerns that prompted the higher reporting thresholds and may warrant reducing the thresholds for bingo, keno, and slots to $600, consistent with other information reporting thresholds under § 6041(a). Accordingly, the IRS and Treasury will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the existing (and proposed) reporting thresholds, and may propose to reduce those thresholds at a future time. Comments are specifically requested regarding the proposed reporting thresholds, including the feasibility of reducing those thresholds to $600 at a future time, whether electronically tracked slot machine play should have a separate reporting threshold, and whether the amounts should be uniform for bingo, keno, and slot machine play."

[FAA]

surprise that more than a dozen casinos have my email address and none have contacted me about this. I only play .25 denomination.It's only marginally relevant for the likes of us quarter players, of course. Even if it passes it will only bang me when I hit a royal. I should be so lucky. I'm mildly surprised that a huge bankrupt entity like CET has not been sweating me about it, but whatever.

[FAA]

LL, after your recent $20,000 Royal Flush, they know that  they can count on you to be protesting in a heartbeat! Prime candidate for running riot and raising hell.

[Tedlark]

FAA wasn't Double L's big hit $10,000.00? The check was made out to: Larry.