Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., plans to take another swing at an archaic tax formula involving slot machine winnings by raising the reporting threshold.
Whenever a slot player wins a jackpot of more than $1,200, the operator — a casino, tavern, restaurant or convenience store, or even airport personnel — are required to prepare a W-2G form that reports the amount of those winnings to the Internal Revenue Service.
When the policy was adopted in 1977, a $1,200 jackpot was a big deal, and Nevada was the only state offering legal casino gambling. Fast forward 46 years, and the landscape has changed dramatically.
The first Atlantic City casinos opened in 1978, and over the years, commercial and tribal casinos have expanded to all but two states, and many of them have casinos with slot machines.
