BILL NUMBER: S7876

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the tax law, in relation to the itemized deduction for
gambling losses

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would eliminate the ability for New York State Personal Income
Tax Fillers to take the itemized deduction for gambling losses

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section One of this bill adds a new subsection (h) by amending Section
615 of the tax law to eliminate the deduction of gambling losses for
fillers of personal income tax

Section Two provides for an effective date

 
              

JUSTIFICATION:

New York State currently allows PIT filers to itemize and deduct a
series of miscellaneous expenses, which are not subject to a two percent
AGI limitation, such as gambling losses. While gambling losses are
included in a broad category of miscellaneous deductions not subject to
the two percent cap, and so DTF does not provide fiscal data for gambl-
ing losses in particular, we know that in 2015, 68,000 taxpayers
deducted $900 million in qualified losses from their New York returns.
New York subsidizes gambling losses at a currently unknown level despite
the fact that other states (CT, IL, IN, KS, MA, MI, NC, OH, RI, WV, and
WI) do not allow this deduction.

This tax break is particularly egregious in light of the explosive
growth in gambling since the launch of online sports betting. Since its
launch in January of 2022, the total mobile sports wagering handle (sum
of bets wagered) has grown from nearly $1.7 billion a month to $2.3
billion a month.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

This bill could provide the state an additional $50 million in revenue

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately