Tennessee sports betting jumps 17% in January
About $211 million in sports bets were placed in Tennessee in January, a 17% increase from the previous month. Payouts were $190 million.
The state’s tax haul was $4.3 million, bringing the total to $9.7 million through the first three months since gaming went live in November.
Preliminary figures show $15 million worth of bets were placed on the Super Bowl, though final numbers won’t be available until the February numbers are released late this month.
For the first three months of gaming, Tennessee sportsbooks have taken $524 million in bets and paid out $476 million. While the law requires payouts to be no more than 90 cents on every dollar wagered, sportsbooks have been averaging closer to a 9% hold.
Here are the monthly betting numbers to date:
| November | December | January | |
| Wagers | $131 million | $181 million | $211 million |
| Payouts | $118 million | $168 million | $190 million |
| Privilege Tax | $2.4 million | $3.1 million | $4.3 million |
IRS places lien against Rep. Matthew Hill for unpaid taxes
Rep. Matthew Hill (R-Jonesborough) checks his phone during a House Republican Caucus meeting in Nashville on Jan. 14, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
The IRS has filed a lien against state Rep. Matthew Hill (R-Jonesborough) for failing to pay $19,042 in federal taxes over two years, WCYB-TV reports.
Hill had an unpaid balance of about $14,700 in 2018 and $4,300 in 2016, according to IRS documents filed on Jan. 2.
“After recently receiving notice of the tax amount variance referenced for the years in question, I am taking corrective action to resolve this issue and will pay all taxes owed,” Hill told the station in a statement.
Hill was a top ally of former House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin), where he was purported to preside over “kill lists” for disfavored legislation, and mounted an unsuccessful bid for the speakership last summer.
Hill previously rejected as “stupid” a WCYB report that Washington County developers donated $45,000 to support the speaker’s bid after he supported legislation to establish a tax incentive retail district for their proposed Boones Creek retail center.
Don Spurrell, an attorney considering legal action to block the creation of the district, said the tax deal had the appearance of “pay-for-play.”
Hill was dismissive of those claims.
“That’s an absurd allegation and is just stupid,” Hill said.
The Tennessean reported last summer that Hill operated a Christian-themed magic supply business, but that he hadn’t registered it with the state or in his statements of interest. Washington County officials later said Hill was required to secure a proper business license for the company.
The Tennessean also reported Hill had nearly lost his house to foreclosure in 2017, but that he avoided that losing the home when he came up with the money in the last minute. Hill, the part owner of a political robocall company, declined to say where he got the money.
Hill first drew attention to a secretive local grant fund last year when he announced that a local nonprofit would be receiving more state money than expected. That came as a surprise to other Northeast Tennessee lawmakers and Gov. Bill Lee’s administration. The governor ultimately froze $4 million pool over what he called misunderstandings about the purpose of the money. Critics quickly labeled the money as supporting pork for lawmakers who supported Lee’s school voucher program.
About that whole voucher tax thing…
Gov. Bill Lee speaks to reporters on March 19, 2019, about his proposal to introduce an education savings account program in Tennessee. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
The revelation that Tennessee’s new school vouchers could well be considered taxable income by the IRS set off a furor at the statehouse among both supporters and opponents of the “education savings account” law.
Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn’s statement to the House Finance Committee appeared fairly unequivocal when asked during a Monday hearing: “My understanding is this is taxable, yes.”
Voucher supporters were quick to pounce, noting that the law includes a provision that states the more than $7,300 vouchers would not be considered income. But the caveat there is the state can only write legislation affecting Tennessee law. The IRS might have different ideas.
Schwinn told reporters she had come to that determination in consultation with state Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s office. But a spokeswoman for the AG said his office would not be in a position to weigh in on federal tax matters.
Schwinn’s spokeswoman later issued a new statement seeking to clarify matters:
The Commissioner’s comments at the budget hearing today were intended to reflect the possible need for the program’s filing and issuance of federal information reporting returns rather than taxability. We are continuing to work through the details of what will be required for ESA program implementation.
So where does that leave things for parents concerned about being hit with a big tax bill if they take the vouchers? It remains unclear. And now Democratic lawmakers are (perhaps inevitably) asking for a delay in the bill’s implementation so it can all be figured out.
Feds could consider school vouchers taxable income
Gov. Bill Lee speaks at the state Capitol on Sept. 16, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn told lawmakers Monday that the federal government may consider money families receive under the Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher program as taxable income.
(Update: There may be some backtracking going on.)
That may come as a surprise to lawmakers who voted for the bill that includes a provision stating that: “Funds received pursuant to this part …. do not constitute income of a parent of a participating student under title 67, chapter 2 or any other state law.”
As enacted, families in the Metro Nashville and Shelby County school districts earning up to 2.6 times the federal poverty level will be eligible for the program offering debit cards worth $7,376 — the equivalent of the average amount provided per student under the state’s school funding formula — to spend on expenses related to private school education. For a family of five, the income limit would be set at $76,500.
Schwinn told reporters after a House budget hearing that the tax determination was reached in consultation with the state Attorney General’s office.
Retiring Corker subject of billboard campaign in Nashville
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Chattanooga) may be hanging ’em up this year, but that’s not stopping a group called Not One Penny from taking out a billboard near the state Capitol in Nashville to attack him over his vote on President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul.
The Not One Penny campaign is part of the Tax March organization that describes itself as “everyday Americans who are tired of systems that are rigged in favor of the super-rich.” The billboard says that Corker’s vote for the tax bill led enriched the senator personally.
AG contradicts Jack Daniels’ bill — says whiskey barrels can be taxed
A legal opinion from the state attorney general’s office says the barrels used to age whiskey in Tennessee distilleries are subject to property taxes paid by businesses, despite a contention to the contrary in a bill pending before the General Assembly.
Producers of Jack Daniels whiskey have been pushing the bill (SB2076) since officials in Moore County laid plans to begin applying the tax to aging barrels, something not done in the past. The fiscal note prepared by legislative staff estimates that would mean about $2.8 million in new revenue for Tennessee’s smallest county.
TN Supreme Court rejects refund of liquor stores’ overpaid taxes
Press release from Administrative Office of the Courts
Nashville, Tenn. – In a unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that a taxpayer must pay disputed municipal taxes under protest before suing for a refund.
The city of Morristown, based on a state statute, adopted an ordinance imposing an inspection fee on licensed alcoholic beverage retailers. The city set the fee at 8 percent of the wholesale price based on the county’s population. By 2011, the county’s population increased, and under the ordinance, the inspection fee should have decreased to a maximum fee of 5 percent of the wholesale price. However, from 2011–2014, the city of Morristown continued to charge alcoholic beverage retailers 8 percent inspection fees instead of the authorized 5 percent fees. Continue reading
Randy Boyd releases tax info — $42M income in past two years
Press release from Randy Boyd campaign
Knoxville, Tenn. – During his two years of public service as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd returned his state salary back to the state and personally paid for all of his own travel and other official expenses – including any use of state aircraft and all other expenses while recruiting businesses to Tennessee from around the world.
Continue reading
On the ‘testy’ exchange between Corker and Wolf Blitzer on tax bill
Excerpt from The Hill’s report on a “testy” exchange between Tennessee U.S. Sen. Bob Corker and CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer:
“I know I am being maligned,” Corker told Blitzer on Tuesday. “It’s just malicious.”
Hatch ‘disgusted’ with Corker kickback claims
As the U.S. Senate prepared for a vote on federal tax overhaul legislation, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker’s shift from no to yes “swirled into a political firestorm,” according to Politico. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch on Tuesday sent Corker a letter basically declaring there was no “Corker kickback” – a label some have been using.
