Currently Charity bingo operators in the state of Arkansas pay a tax of one penny for each bingo card they use. Operators want legislatures to do away with the tax and have been trying to have a measure passed for the past two years since the tax was added.

A bill will be presented before the House this week that could eliminate the penny tax. The bill will be heard by the House Rules Committee this Wednesday. The bill is backed by Tracy Pennartz and Mark Martin both representatives of the state.

If the bill is passed the one cent tax would be eliminated and the license fees would be lowered for bingo operators. The maximum amount of bingo and raffle prizes would also be increased. The fees and tax is used to cover the administrative costs of watching over bingo operations.

The fee would drop from $25 to $15 for a temporary license and the annual fees paid by equipment manufacturers and distributors would move from $2,500 to $1,500.


- 2009-02-09