Courtesy of: http://www.boston.com
By Ray Henry, Associated Press Writer
Rhode Islanders can't watch television without seeing advertisements that promise a casino will reduce property taxes, provide jobs and alleviate poverty among the state's Narragansett Indian Tribe.
The tribe and its partner, Harrah's Entertainment, are spending millions of dollars to persuade Rhode Islanders to approve a constitutional amendment that would allow them to build a casino in West Warwick.
But neither they nor their critics can conclusively say how much money a casino will produce because state lawmakers haven't set a tax rate on casino gambling proceeds and no one is certain how much business a casino might steal from Rhode Island's two existing slot parlors. If too many gamblers abandon the slot parlors, the state might have to reimburse them for the lost income.
Narragansett leaders have argued that property tax relief is a major reason for building the casino. A Web site funded by Harrah's outlines one plan for dividing gaming income among the state's cities and towns: It would give Providence $26.2 million, while tiny New Shoreham would receive $1.1 million.
But critics call these numbers baseless. The House finance committee stripped a provision setting a 25 to 40 percent tax rate on net gaming income from an early version of the amendment allowing the casino. Without a tax rate, economists can't say how much money the state should expect.
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