Today casino employees visited a town hall meeting to protest Iowa Governor Terry Branstad’s proposed tax increase. The governor stopped in Sioux City, Iowa in order to sell is administration’s plans for job creation. Among those policies, though, is a plan that would be harmful to the casino industry.

More than a dozen employees of the Argosy Casino Sioux City attended the meeting in matching yellow T-shirts saying “Save Sioux City Jobs” in red letters with a smaller sign indicating opposition to the proposed tax hike. Branstad, a moderate Republican, has proposed raising the tax rate on the casino industry to 36%. The current rate at 15 of the current casinos is 22%, with the two others taxed at a rate of 24%. Branstad wants to use the estimated $190 million in additional taxes from the casinos to fund his programs, including a slashing of corporate taxes by 50%.

Iowa has the highest corporate tax rate in the country and Branstad considers cutting that tax rate a priority. To pay for it, though, he wants to take more money from the casinos, which are the largest money makers in the tourism industry, contributing $1 billion annually on the state’s economy.

Joelle Shearin, finance director of Argosy Casino, said that “most businesses can’t handle a 63% increase in their tax burden.” The casino has said that if their taxes are raised, they would lose approximately $8.5 million in annual revenue. That loss of revenue would result in the layoff of 12% of their workforce. Governor Branstad refutes the doomsday scenarios predicted by the casinos, saying that they are thriving and can afford it, also pointing out that they will benefit from the corporate tax cuts just like every other business.

Tags: gambling taxes, Iowa casinos