Alabama House committee votes to reduce tax on dog tracks

Bill Poovey

Wednesday, April 19, 2000 | 10:27 a.m.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A bill that would provide a tax break for Alabama's four dog tracks received approval from a state House committee, with the sponsor saying the pari-mutuel operations need help to remain open.

The bill sponsored by House Ways and Means-General Fund Committee Chairman John Knight, D-Montgomery, would reduce revenue the state is getting from the pari-mutuel tax by about $2.5 million annually.

The committee's approval of the bill on a voice vote put it in line for possible floor debate.

The Legislature has refused to go along with attempts by track operators to get video poker games approved to help them lure customers back from Mississippi casinos and from lottery games in Georgia and Florida.

"If something doesn't happen, we will not be collecting any taxes at all," Knight said.

He said reducing the state's 1 percent tax on the total wagers to .5 percent would help keep the tracks in Birmingham, Macon County, Mobile and Greene County operating.

The tracks refuse to release their profit figures and there is no state law that requires such disclosure.

The Birmingham Race Course and VictoryLand track in Macon County, both owned by Milton McGregor of Montgomery, were ranked No. 9 and No. 10, respectively, among the nation's 50 tracks in 1998, according to the American Greyhound Track Operators Association.

The ranking is based on the total wagering on races, not including money bet on simulcast races.

The Mobile Greyhound Park was No. 15, but Greenetrack in Greene County, which suspended live racing because of struggling finances, did not report its total.

A gambling opponent, Rep. Bon McKee, R-Montgomery, questioned providing tax breaks for the tracks at a time when the Legislature is looking to start repealing other tax exemptions to boost revenues.

"We don't know how much money those people are making," McKee said.