[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6360725,"mediaKeyId","2174214-ab226a8f1fb15b3e5be57a2718329270","parentId",2174214,"title","Lawmakers press auditors on coin-operated amusement machine revenue model and possible effects on lottery HOPE funding","audioSeconds",656,"startMs",3153000,"endMs",3809000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2174214-ab226a8f1fb15b3e5be57a2718329270&start=3153&end=3809","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2174214-ab226a8f1fb15b3e5be57a2718329270/thumbnail_3153000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6360725/Georgia/Lawmakers-press-auditors-on-coin-operated-amusement-machine-revenue-model-and-possible-effects-on-lottery-HOPE-funding","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6360725-beafd28467815d30649f42d6ffd98495/orig.mp4?Expires=1775296530&Signature=jJj3UNAVlwuFkk-1uTWXPeuChAc~NCiBRtfDkdFGOUlzchLKHvaqhF4-3OAtheDybELs3CyodYT7DyFPPYe7w8Ke-45pbTE-uaKKStkIQfDDbxLvXowVifpKB~ThUVjgyTXkO0WhFsOlWZrmH9i2j2aKArLTDVYUkXF6BPtvaY3fkSTUIQaIv5zRqb81otBsOPwWH8JUYSs-WQFS9~~ErKmO8vLBJVDthPPtcuO8M0Mv32DvyZ7UaaHgMkqEeNbDiDxuJhkDWyOkuEQubcuwOiBFX2G~UvKn-L-UApeMamvnt2QO8DhaoihqS5i-iXEwyy4LpSuR-ZhPj~hNDVFe6g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Georgia State Legislature ","date","2025-01-28T00:00:00Z","article","During the joint briefing on audits of tax incentives, presenters singled out the coin-operated amusement machine (COAM) sales-tax exemption for a separate discussion of revenue models and downstream effects.

Matt Taylor (Department of Audits) and Ben McCain (Georgia Southern University) described two alternative revenue approaches: a states-levied sales tax on gross game receipts (used in some states) and Georgia's existing model, which relies on licensing plus a 13% share of net revenue (net defined as gross receipts minus non-cash payouts). McCain said the researchers \"kept it very narrow to the southeast\" in comparative work and found Georgia's approach \"stood out as being as having a net benefit over what some of the other states were doing in the in the area.\"

The key comparison the researchers reported was that a sales-tax model applied to gross receipts would have produced about $203,000,000 in fiscal 2024; under the current licensing-and-net-share model, if the state had received 13% of net revenue for the entire year the revenue collected would have been about $10,000,000 less, the presenters said. The researchers cautioned a sales-tax approach could have higher enforcement costs and lower compliance in practice because Georgia's lottery corporation already connects to class‑B machines under the present model.

Committee members pressed for downstream consequences. Chairman (unnamed in the transcript) walked through arithmetic used by colleagues, explaining that 13% of net translates to roughly 4% of gross receipts under typical payout structures and that a lottery ticket yields about 28 cents per dollar for the state while a COAM dollar at 13% of net would yield roughly four cents. He warned that if COAM sales cannibalize lottery sales, the HOPE Scholarship Fund could lose revenue: \"If we cannibalize the lottery by selling more of these, the Hope Scholarship Fund is not gonna do well. It's gonna lose money,\" he said.

Researchers and other members also raised enforcement and distribution questions: Jeremy Kouser asked whether the team examined how other states split proceeds between master licensees, locations and the state; McCain cited Illinois as an example that divides revenue roughly into thirds among master licensee, location and state, noting jurisdictions vary.

Nicholas Warner of the Fiscal Research Center answered a separate question about the jet-fuel analysis and time scale, saying, \"the most important thing to think about in terms of your question is the time scale. We looked at a period when the when jet fuel was taxed, and we just didn't see much shifting away from fueling in in Georgia.\" That exchange reflected committee concerns about whether changes in tax treatment would change operator or consumer behavior over short- versus long-term horizons.

No policy changes were enacted at the briefing. Presenters said their reports include revenue comparisons, enforcement considerations and that one-page summaries and full reports will be published for committee review.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","01.28.25 Ways & Means (Joint)","oneSentenceSummary","Matt Taylor and university researchers told lawmakers a sales-tax model on coin-operated amusement machines would have yielded about $203 million in FY24 while Georgia's current licensing-and-net-share model would have yielded roughly $10 million less.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature Georgia , Georgia","taxId",77688,"location","Georgia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6360733,"State auditors present reviews of eight tax incentives; lawmakers hear limited fiscal returns and methodological caveats",1847,2386000,4233000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2174214-ab226a8f1fb15b3e5be57a2718329270&start=2386&end=4233","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2174214-ab226a8f1fb15b3e5be57a2718329270/thumbnail_2386000.jpg","/articles/6360733/Georgia/State-auditors-present-reviews-of-eight-tax-incentives-lawmakers-hear-limited-fiscal-returns-and-methodological-caveats","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6360733-3f7f340ee7f5805be99f5ec3a76c0c1b/orig.mp4?Expires=1775296530&Signature=NI7qvHwMHgUy8kXwGU8D45Ti1Umjja5Zp4a6lBcQ6fnCnNAGaLIwqyaef2oA7fM1ybQ9KE6IHsblAWn5dYFVfQ~7FI1NFcT8sjP7gTschg6fzXCwJsj2Sa3~AQfy3MNu2hLtAkJnHyhHrPqRfjG0xYPMa7-8BhCVZY1UFqTljCVNBQfT7iutFE5ELi7nFvwUBPE4DwCaccDtf9aDe7r1ChLCYVjM~6eoJ~cV-M51bJSQ-wwqTa3OP1v6WFMs~zk8GqmMZ0Gj18bN-Ia1iEIzUhB0b31V6VOqrGxtCQ1SQplcmWMsunA~oX-Z~9LiNsc-xWaCxuRkhCwmLIWunj0Y-A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Matt Taylor of the Georgia Department of Audits and researchers from Georgia Southern, Georgia State and the University of Georgia told a joint meeting of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees on Wednesday that this is \"the 3rd year for the reports\" produced under state law and that last year's change in statute increased the number of reports chairs may request.

The presentations reviewed eight tax incentives requested in 2024, including a bank tax credit, the coin-operated amusement machine (COAM) sales tax exemption, tax treatment of construction and professional services, the global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) exclusion, an insurance premium tax abatement, jet fuel and a natural-gas sales tax exemption. \"The law allows the chairs to request up to 5 reports each,\" Taylor said, adding that Senate Bill 366, effective Jan. 1, 2025, now allows chairs to request up to six reports each.

Why it matters: the audits quantify economic and fiscal effects and evaluate whether provisions are meeting their statutory purposes; lawmakers said they needed the numbers to consider broad tax-policy tradeoffs such as income-tax versus consumption-tax orientation.

The researchers used IMPLAN economic modeling to estimate jobs, labor income, value added and economic output and to assess \"but‑for\" effects (the portion of activity attributable to the incentive). Taylor and the researchers emphasized limits to that analysis, including difficulty measuring long-term, reputational or location-decision effects and incomplete data in some cases.

Key findings and caveats included:

- For jet-fuel and the bank tax credit, researchers reported a \"but‑for\" effect of zero over the review period, meaning they did not find evidence that the activity would have changed during the period under review. Matt Taylor said that for jet fuel \"the number of flights would not have been impacted\" in the period analyzed.

- The insurance premium tax abatement analysis was limited to changes in premium levels; researchers \"were unable to determine how the incentive influence[d] investment decisions\" tied to the abatement, Taylor said, and therefore could not measure any resulting additional impact.

- For the GILTI exclusion, researchers concluded that absent the exclusion Georgia would likely not collect additional revenue because the income would shift to other states offering similar treatment.

- Natural-gas exemptions interact with a state fuel-cost recovery rider, and the researchers noted that savings or higher costs for utilities would pass through to customers.

Lawmakers pressed on implications and scale. Chairman Albers described the collection of incentives as a large figure: \"about $7,300,000,000,\" and urged focusing on the numbers when weighing policy choices. Several lawmakers also noted that many services are broadly untaxed in Georgia and that applying sales tax to services can have pass-through effects that raise consumer prices.

Researchers and auditors urged caution in interpreting returns per dollar, because not all incentives are enacted for the same statutory purpose and some impacts are not captured by IMPLAN's short-term modeling.

No formal votes or decisions were taken during the briefing; committee chairs said they may request deeper dives on select items.

Ending: Department of Audits staff said the reports and one-page summaries would be published and that chairs may request additional analysis or follow-up as committees consider tax-policy options.","Department of Audits staff and university researchers briefed a joint House-Senate committee on audits of eight Georgia tax incentives, reporting mixed economic impacts, methodological limits and several items with little or no \"but‑for\" effect on activity within the review period.","actionData","errors"]

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Lawmakers press auditors on coin-operated amusement machine revenue model and possible effects on lottery HOPE funding

State auditors present reviews of eight tax incentives; lawmakers hear limited fiscal returns and methodological caveats