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was to a small city for a recreation room. This
particular competitor has forced us onto some
rentals which we don't particularly like to do but in
order not to lose the location, we did do that. We
ended up renting a phonograph. They offered it for
20 dollars, even went down to 15. But we rented it
for 30. So we're getting more money than what
they offered it to them for. But by the same token,
we were getting 50 or 60 before. This is a very bad
situation with us right now, in this particular area,
and I don't know how long this company will be
around, but for whatever period of time, it's going
to be bad. It's my opinion that they have set us
back about 25 or 30 years.
PLAY METER: That bad, huh?
LAWSON: Yes, it's terrible, because at this
particular time we were meaning to talk about
increasing prices and more commissions and that
kind of thing. And then we have to contend with
this.
PLAY METER: Have you lost any locations?
LAWSON: Yes, we have lost some of the locations
because some of the locations where they put
them in, we felt just weren't profitable enough to
us. If it's not profitable, then we're not going to
keep it.
PLAY METER: Do you charge a minimum fee for a
location?
LAWSON:
Yes, in some locations we do,
particularly on our music.
PLA Y METER: How does that work?
LAWSON: We can't operate anything for less than
ten dollars a week. So any phonograph we have
starts on a minimum of ten dollars and, depending
upon the age of the equipment, goes up. If a
phonograph has 12 dollars in it, we take the first
ten, that's what it amounts to. And they get two.
If it has just eight or nine in it, we just take the
eight or nine. We don't ask them to make up the
difference.
PLAY METER: You mentioned earlier a sales tax.
The sales tax imposed on you as the operator or
vendor of equipment.
LAWSON: Well, there is a sales tax. We have to
pay a four percent sales tax on cigarettes. Then we
have to pay a sales tax on parts and service.
PLAY METER:
When you have something
repaired at your distributors?
LAWSON: That's right. On the parts and service
we buy, we have to pay a sales tax. We do not pay a
sales tax on the machines themselves because we
are paying a sales tax on the money that is derived
from those machines.
PLAY METER:
Because of the location?
LAWSON: Right. In fact, in the early sixties, this
is why our state association was formed, to combat
this sales tax. They were going to put the sales tax
on the gross amount of the machine. Well, through
a lot of hard work and litigation and expense and so
forth, we convinced them that that would be double
taxation. They were very happy with the way we
were collecting the tax and returning it for them.
And they realized it would almost be a physical
impossibility for them to collect from all the mom
and pop operations we do business with. They had
56
to rely upon someone to do it. and we pointed out all
t hese things to them. And because of this, we were
able to convince them not to put the tax on the gross.
amount.
PLAY METER: And it was due mostly to the
efforts of whom?
LAWSON: The state association. There is no
question about it in my mind . If it hadn't been for
the association, we would have a four percent sales
tax on the gross amount today. That is a fact. If it
had not been for the Florida association , we might
not be operating coin-operated pool tables in
licensed beverage places. We had a beverage
director in the state who said that a pool table was a
gambling device. Well, hell, a Coca-Cola bottle can
be a gambling device. A pool table is not so
designed to be a gambling device. But we came
within a hair of having to move all the pool tables
out of the licensed beverage places. The association
is what saved that. We agreed with the beverage
department that we would help police our area, and
this is what we have done.
PLAY METER: You're very fortunate to have such
an active and progressive state association.
LAWSON: Yes, we are, and we know that. And I
am a firm believer in associations.
PLAY METER: No doubt about it. Too bad more
operators in America don't think the way you do.
LAWSON: Too bad that more of them here in
Florida don't agree with us. One of the benefits is
the workman's compensation through the associa-
tion. We've saved about 30 percent this year, just
by having been in the association.
PLAY METER: Okay, now, what sort of licenses
do you have to buy for the machines?
LAWSON: We have what we call a master license.
It's a $187.50, plus $1.80 per machine, after the first
35 machines in the county.
PLAY METER: State and county tax or license?
LAWSON: Right. Well, it's called a license. We
buy it from each county seat. We give them a list or
number of the machines we have in theil' county. In
fact, some of them require a list of the locations and
their addresses. Some of them only require a
number. And they give us something like a large
postage stamp that we stick on the machine. Now,
in the counties where you have less than 35 pieces,
you buy a $7.50 stamp per machine. I think if you
figure $187.50 and $1.80 times 35, it will come to the
same figure as 35 times $7.50.
PLAY METER: Yes, it works out pretty close.
LAWSON: Yes, so this is how we arrived at that.
PLAY METER: Well, that sounds pretty fair and
equitable.
LAWSON: Well, we think so.
PLAY METER:
How did you manage it?
LAWSON: Actually, it was our local tax collector
who I have been talking with for a number of years.
I have always felt that in our industry we have been
taxed too heavily. Our licenses were too great, I
should say. Not only that, we also have a personal
property tax that we must pay on each piece of
equipment. And that's based on 100 percent
evaluation. They take 80 percent the first year and
go down in most counties to 40 percent and hold at
that. They don't ever go below 40 percent.
August, 1977, PLA Y METER