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Chicago’s Proposed Casino Hits Snag: Not Enough ‘Profit’ for Private Investors
A study commissioned by the City of Chicago on where to build the city’s first land-based gambling casino says that none of the five proposed locations are “financially feasible” due to high taxes and fees built into the legislation authorizing the casino. That law was passed earlier this year by the Illinois General Assembly and signed by the new Governor J.B. Pritzker.
The most objectionable provisions of the law, according to the study, are as follows:
- There’s an upfront, nonrefundable $250,000 application fee;
- There’s a 33 percent “privilege” tax;
- How about a $15 million “reconciliation” fee when the license is issued; and
- Up to a whopping $120 million in gambling position fees may be imposed.
Because of these “anti-business” high tax and fee numbers, the study’s bottom line is this: None of the five proposed sites would yield a private investor much more than a two percent profit. And, that kind of profit margin is simply unacceptable for any rational capitalist in this perhaps most capitalistic city of this most capitalistic nation-state.
After all, from Adam Smith to Milton Friedman, the real point of every endeavor known to man is never to benefit…
