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Louisiana gambling could fund teachers; Delaware
historic property tax break; Kentucky to broadcast tax help
By Kay Bell • Bankrate.com
Through
mid-April, most people tend to focus on their federal income taxes.
But state and local governments are involved in taxpayers' lives,
too, and usually year-round.
Currently, Louisiana lawmakers are looking to
link gambling tax breaks and teacher pay raises. Delaware property
owners get a tax credit to help pay for historic restorations. And
Kentucky tax officials are learning their tax lines in preparation
for the department's annual tax television show.
Louisiana gambling on
teacher pay raise
BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana lawmakers are betting that state residents
want teachers to be paid more.
Gov. M.J. "Mike" Foster has offered two gambling
tax initiatives that would provide money for teacher raises. One
would give a tax break to Harrah's casino in New Orleans to help
the hotel continue operating. The financially strapped hotel had
planned to shut its doors on March 31, ending its $100-million-a-year
payments to the state. Instead, Foster proposes cutting the casino's
payments to $50 million now and $60 million in each of the following
three years, raising $230 million over four years.
The other gambling tax proposal would allow
nine riverboats navigating south Louisiana waterways to dock and
operate gaming tables at a higher tax rate. The dockside tax increase,
from 18.5 percent to 21.5 percent, is expected to bring in $54 million
annually.
The money raised from the new casino and riverboat
tax arrangements would be used to give teachers an average $2,000
raise this year.
The Louisiana legislature began a special session
March 11 to consider the gaming taxes. It has 11 days to complete
work on the measures. The bills aren't linked, but some lawmakers
say each measure has a better chance of survival if they are viewed
in tandem.
Despite early committee success in the Louisiana
senate special session, passage of the bills is not a sure thing.
Gambling opponents are fighting the bills, arguing that gaming is
no way to pay for state services.
Historic properties in
'The First State' get tax break
WILMINGTON -- Delaware homeowners and investors now have a tax incentive
to preserve the state's historic properties.
The Historic Preservation Tax Credit Act provides
$3 million a year to be used to pay tax credits for the costs of
repairing or renovating properties that are listed or eligible to
be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In some cases,
the credits could equal as much as 40 percent of a property's restoration
costs.
Tax credits can be carried forward for up to
10 years or sold or transferred to another individual, corporation
or lender, according to State Rep. Joe DiPinto, primary sponsor
of the law. For example, notes DiPinto, a low-income property owner
with no income-tax liability against which to use the credit could
sell his eligibility to a lender. That purchase would help the lender
meet its community reinvestment requirement.
The Delaware State Historic Preservation Office,
a division of the office of the Secretary of State, will administer
the program. Renovations have to conform to National Register of
Historic Places guidelines and applicants must submit the same documentation
of qualified expenditures and project plans that would be required
for similar federal tax credits.
Interested property owners can contact Joan
N. Larrivee, Administrator, Delaware State Historic Preservation
Office at (302) 739-5685.
Live, from Lexington!
It's Taxes Tonight!
LEXINGTON -- It may not have the sizzle of Survivor, but
Kentucky Educational Television's upcoming tax question-and-answer
show will no doubt have some very interested viewers.
On April 9, Kentucky Revenue Cabinet officials
will be at KET studios to take calls from state taxpayers on 2000
tax issues. The annual call-in program gives viewers the chance
to get a little official free tax advice.
In addition to taking calls from 10 p.m. to
11 p.m., Kentucky revenue staffers will provide general tax information
and filing tips. There also will be appearances by Revenue Secretary
Mike Haydon and Taxpayer Ombudsman Betty Claycomb.
Kentucky viewers can get more information on
the program, including the phone numbers, from their local television
listings or at the KET
Web site.
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