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Sahil Kapur, Senior National Political Reporter covering Capitol Hill and elections, spoke to a handful of Republican lawmakers who conceded they were unaware of language in a budget bill that would not longer permit gamblers to deduct 100 percent of their losses.
In the Senate’s roughly 900-page version of President Donald Trump’s multitrillion-dollar tax bill, gamblers would only be able to deduct 90% of their losses when calculating their net income. Under current law, a bettor can deduct the entirety of their losses, up until the amount of their gambling winnings.
In a nutshell, under the new law, if a player were to report winnings of $100,000 and losses of $100,000, the player would still owe taxes on $10,000.
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Democratic congresswoman Dina Titus of the First District of Nevada explained the ramifications.
"Buried within the BS Republican Budget bill is a provision that harms poker players and those who gamble by limiting loss deductions. I’m working on a legislative fix that fairly treats gaming losses in the tax code."
Titus introduced legislation that would eliminate the gambling provision.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) also sought unanimous passage of a bill that would roll back the change on gambling tax deductions. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) objected, stalling the proposal for now.
Young later said he supports the policy but would only agree to undo it if Democrats accepted other provisions in return.
“I strongly support the underlying bill, but will have to object unless you can agree to my request,” Young said on the Senate floor.
But Democrats may have the most unlikely ally in their corner, none other that Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
He's not just a politician. Cruz is a long time recreational poker player.
"None of us knew about it," Cruz is quoted as saying in Kapur's report. “It’s unfair. It makes no sense."
Sens. Cruz and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee have signed on to legislation to roll it back, alongside Nevada’s two Democratic senators, Jacky Rosen and Cortez Masto.
“Now I see Republican senators walking all over the Capitol saying they didn’t even know anything about this policy," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.
“The fact is, when you rush a process like this, this way, and cram in all of these policies that you haven’t really thought about, you risk consequences for people back home. That is what is going on here,” Wyden said.
- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
