LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A proposal from Democratic Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto to close a loophole requiring gamblers who lose money to pay taxes on their losses failed an initial test Thursday after Republican objection.
Cortez Masto introduced the Facilitating Useful Loss Limitations to Help Our Unique Service Economy (FULL HOUSE) Act on Thursday to fix a change in the tax code written into President Donald Trump’s budget bill. No Democrat voted to support the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which the president signed into law last week.
As written, the new tax code will allow bettors to deduct 90% of their losses on their annual taxes. The previous law called for a 100% deduction. The new tax code goes into effect in January.
Speaking on the U.S. Senate Floor, Cortez Masto described the change as forcing gamblers to pay taxes on their losses.
“They would literally be paying taxes on money they don’t have,” Cortez Masto said. “This makes no sense.”
Cortez Masto attempted to pass the bill through unanimous consent, an action that allows it to move forward if no senator objects. However, Republican Indiana Sen. Todd Young objected in an attempt to add an amendment to Cortez Masto’s proposal affecting religious exemptions.
“It is a shame that we cannot pass this commonsense [act] because Republicans want to weigh it down with unrelated measures that they voted to support,” Cortez Masto said in a statement. “This is a Republican piece of legislation that is actually causing people to pay taxes on money they lost. It makes no sense. And that’s all this is, is to try to fix it… so I’m disappointed, but I am not done.”
Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen also spoke in favor of the bill on the Senate Floor.
Democratic Nevada Rep. Dina Titus introduced a similar bill in the U.S. House on Monday to fix the provision. All of Nevada’s congressional delegation, including lone Republican Rep. Mark Amodei, supports it, Titus said earlier this week. A representative from Amodei’s office did not return a request for comment.
In a statement before the bill’s passage, representatives with the American Gaming Association said they “will work closely with Congress in the coming months to address the changes to wagering deduction losses and further modernize the tax code.”
