Schuylkill County will explore the possibility of imposing local fees and taxes on the many Pennsylvania Skill games machines in the area.
Commissioners Chairman Larry Padora said this publicly on Wednesday after noting efforts to do so on the state government level failed in the run-up to passing the most recent budget.
Legislators could not come to an agreement on just how much to tax the revenue these machines generate.
Seeing that, Padora said he wants to explore the potential to regulate and tax these machines at the local level.
“The first step is to see if we can get some revenue out of them, just here to the county though, instead of going to the black hole of Harrisburg,” he said. “Everything’s taxed and it goes to Harrisburg and it disappears.”
Under this proposed plan, which is currently in the infancy stages, Schuylkill County could first require businesses that have Pennsylvania Skill games at their establishment to purchase a Small Games of Chance license or something similar. He also wants businesses to submit a list of the machines at any establishment.
“I think it’s just fair. Our fire companies, our football associations, our churches … everybody has to have a Small Games of Chance license,” Padora told The Canary after Wednesday’s meeting. “With these, there’s nothing.”
Eventually, Padora said, he wants the County government to start collecting a tax on the machines. He said he hasn’t determined at what rate they’d be taxed. Under his plan, he said, a portion of that revenue would go to the municipalities where the machines are located and the rest to the County government.
The state government was looking to tax them anywhere between 16-54%, according to numerous reports covering budget negotiations.
Pottsville Fees on PA Skill Machines
The idea is not without precedent, especially locally.
Right now, stores in Pottsville that have these Pennsylvania Skill machines are required to get them licensed through the City government as part of its Mechanical Amusement Device Tax.
Pottsville charges $75 per machine, paid annually, according to City Code, and a sticker is affixed to each machine.
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