Request By:
Mr. Luther S. Gilmer
City Attorney
City of Irvine
142-146 Broadway
Irvine, Kentucky 40336
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Alex W. Rose, Assistant Attorney General
In your letter to the Attorney General, you pose several questions concerning taxation of coin-operated pool tables.
Does the Commonwealth of Kentucky levy a tax upon a coin-operated pool table in which cue balls and cue sticks are used? If your answer is in the affirmative, how much is levied on each table?
ANSWER: Yes. KRS 137.360 states as follows:
"The department of revenue shall issue licenses upon coin-operated amusement and vending machines to any person making application therefor as set out in KRS 137.340 and 137.350 upon the payment of a tax of ten ($10.00) per annum.
In case taxes are levied upon a coin operated pool table, is this levy the same as the amount levied upon a regular type pool table (not coin operated) ?
ANSWER: No, the Commonwealth does not levy a tax on regular type pool tables (not coin operated) . However, KRS 137.115 allows the county fiscal court of each county to impose a permissive tax on a regular billiard or pool table. KRS 137.115(1)(c) allows the fical court to impose a tax not to exceed $30.00 per annum for the first table and $5.00 per annum for each additional table.