Good stuff from J Todd and friends, as is generally the case, to those of us interested in the socio-political-economic waves (and butterfly effects) of the poker biz.
In this week\’s episode:
- New British gambling laws go into effect. The moralists fear \”normalisation.\”
- APCW takes on NPR for their gambling-law coverage.
- New American tax on poker winnings chaps some hides.
- Brokeback Harbor.
Yeow. The tax thing is pretty big, I think. (It\’s gotta be enough to make Eskimo Clark\’s heart skip a beat, yo.) From what I can tell, it doesn\’t seem to take into account losses. And the 25 percent … perhaps a tax-minded Pokeratizen can clarify for us … is this in addition to standard income tax that all poker players dutifully report on their W-2Gs?
I mean it\’s hard enough for low-stakes players to beat the rake. Now high-stakes players face a juice that seems almost impossible to successfully swallow.
UPDATE: Found a little more good information via Lou Krieger. His take makes it seem just that all casinos have to be like Harrah\’s now, and automatically withhold the taxes, that\’s all. Sucks, sure, but understandable? Unacceptable? Undesirable?