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Stroudsburg Borough Council will impose a tax on skill games.
During the Aug. 19 borough council meeting, an ordinance establishing a tax on skill games was passed. The ordinance defines a skill game machine as “Any electronic, mechanical, or electro-mechanical device” that takes “payment in cash or electronic cash equivalent to play” and provides “a game or activity in which a player can win cash or credit redeemable for cash.”
The ordinance will require businesses that feature a skill game to obtain a license from the borough. An annual tax will be imposed on each skill game within the borough at a rate that will be set by council through resolution. The same resolution will establish the fee operators will pay annually.
Operators must register new machines within 30 days of their introduction to their premises. Registration must be done annually and the tax must be paid each year by Feb. 1. Taxes not paid by the due date will be subject to a 12% penalty on the amount due and 10% interest per annum.
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If there are more than three skill games at a location, there must be “an additional staff member clearly identified as a security guard.”
The penalty for operating an unregistered skill game or otherwise violating the ordinance is a fine of up to $300, or up to 90 days in jail.
The ordinance excludes traditional arcade games. Other exemptions include devices “used solely for children’s amusement,” non-game coin machines such as jukeboxes and vending machines, and devices “where 100% of net proceeds benefit community projects or organizations.”
Council President Matthew Abell told the Pocono Record during public comment that at least 10 to 12 establishments in Stroudsburg have skill game machines. Council member J. Zac Christman estimated that there were between 30 and 40 individual machines, and borough engineer Kylie Shoemaker said that some establishments have “nearly a dozen machines.”
Max Augugliaro is the public safety and government watchdog reporter at the Pocono Record. Reach him at MAugugliaro@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Stroudsburg Borough Council approves taxing skill games
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