Mar 14, 2016 2 min read

I live about a mile from the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in a house my father built in 1907. I have witnessed firsthand the the positive impact the casino and the natural gas industry has had on our area, and the jobs it has created. Expanding the tax base has resulted in many new residents, developments, and upgrades to our infrastructure.

I frequent the casino regularly for games, food, and entertainment, but a big reason why I go is the “free play,” that is offered in their promotions. Gov Tom Wolf has now proposed taxing promotions at 8 percent, which would cause a dramatic cutback for many of the incentives, not to mention hurting reinvestment in the property and future jobs.

The casino is already taxed by the state at almost 60 percent, so this additional tax seems unnecessary and burdensome. When you tax something, it discourages that activity, no matter what it is.

We have seen the simple but persistent threat of a severance tax from Wolf, which has made many companies so uncertain they’ve frozen operations until prices come back up and the regulatory climate stabilizes. Washington County has been one of the fastest-growing counties in the entire country, and now Wolf’s ideas would stop that progress.

Instead of looking to raise taxes first, Wolf should start looking for additional revenue through new job creation and cutting spending.

Joanna Renko

Meadowlands