Small games of chance moratorium welcome news
News that nonprofit groups such as fire departments and veterans organizations won’t have to start filing detailed reports on small games of chance in February was welcome news to local organizations.
“It kept the fire department around for another year and, hopefully in that year, we’re going to come up with something everyone can live with,” said George Matis of the Republic Volunteer Fire Department and a Redstone Township supervisor.
Matis said he hopes that within the next year the Legislature reconsiders the financial reporting requirements that had been placed on the fire departments and other small games of chance license holders, especially regarding the W-2G reporting.
“Go back to the way it was before — the person who wins is responsible, not the fire department,” Matis said.
The law that was to have gone into effect in February would have required small games of chance license holders to file a W-2G tax form for anyone who won more than $100, Matis said.
Chuck Clayton, president of the South Brownsville Volunteer Fire Department, said the news of the moratorium was a relief, although the department was prepared to implement the new requirements.
“We had all of our forms made out for the new requirements,” Clayton said. “We count on the small games of chance to survive.”
Fayette County American Legion Commander Russ Miller, who is also the commander of the American Legion Post 301 in Connellsville, said more changes are needed over the next year if his organization is going to survive.
“We’ve got to be realistic. The way the economy is, people aren’t going out. It hurts us; it literally kills us. We have 220 members paid to date, but only 15 to 20 frequent the club. We’re operating on a shoestring and I’m waiting for the shoestring to break,” Miller said.
Miller suggested allowing clubs to keep all of their games’ earnings up to a certain amount, so they can meet their expenses, then require perhaps 50 percent to go to benefit the public.
Joseph Embacher, commander of Veterans of Foreign War Post 278 in Fairchance, said the bookkeeping requirements of the law were horrendous.
“You almost have to hire someone to do it,” Embacher said.
Embacher said that over the next year the requirement for clubs such as the veterans organizations to give 70 percent of the money raised through small games of chance to be used for the benefit of the community also needs to be revisited. Embacher said his club doesn’t have a problem in that area.
“People don’t realize all the things we do in the community. We sponsor two ball teams, we help sponsor the fishing derby and help sponsor the Halloween treats for Fairchance and Smithfield,” Embacher said.
Other veterans organizations have already run into problems meeting expenses, Embacher said.
“The Uniontown VFW was once the fourth or fifth largest in the world, now it’s gone,” Embacher said.
A coalition of lawmakers from southwestern Pennsylvania had pushed for the moratorium.
“I thank the Corbett administration for the freeze, however, I am most grateful for the tens of thousands of people who spoke out against these tedious mandates,” state Rep. Peter J. Daley, D-California, stated in a news release.
Newly elected lawmaker Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, said the issue came up during her campaign.
“I heard from many organizations about the problems with the law. I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner to fix it so these wonderful groups can continue to help our communities,” Snyder said in a release.
“We shouldn’t be making it harder for these groups to do the good that they do,” state Rep. Deberah Kula, D-North Union Township, stated in the release.
“This delay givers everyone time to go back to the drawing board, to craft revisions that make sense and are liveable for all concerned parties,” state Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Township, stated in the release. “It provides some much-needed breathing room to get this important legislation done right.”