Indian Gaming > Editorial: Choctaw casino unfair to competition

October 09, 2006

Editorial: Choctaw casino unfair to competition

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"The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is seeking to expand its gaming operations from the two casinos now operated on the Pearl River reservation in Neshoba County to a site in Jackson County on the Gulf Coast.

Federal law and the compact the Choctaws signed with the state of Mississippi exempts Indian gaming from state taxes. Therefore, a new Choctaw casino in Jackson County would be exempt from the 12-percent tax the state's other non-tribal casinos pay.

That would create unfair competition for the private casinos struggling to recover and rebuild from Hurricane Katrina. Moreover, it would exempt a very large business entity from state taxes at a time when state and local governments need new revenue the most.

The Choctaws' case is made even weaker by the fact that Jackson County voters have twice rejected bringing gaming into their county. If the Choctaw tribe won federal approval for expansion of gaming operations, it still would require local approval and that's not likely."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Choctaw casino: Keep gaming field level (The Jackson Clarion-Ledger 10/7)