Australian mayor proposes super tax on clubs with high slot profits
Fairfield City mayor Frank Carbone wants a higher tax for clubs with annual gaming profits over AU$20m.
Australia.- The mayor of Fairfield City in New South Wales (NSW), Frank Carbone, is advocating for a new higher tax rate for clubs that have high profits from gaming machines. He proposed a new 10 per cent levy on the gaming revenue of clubs that make more than $20 million in annual profit.
He says the additional would go to community-oriented initiatives focusing on reviving the night-time economy in non-gambling venues within the same local government area and bolstering sporting infrastructure.
Three local government areas: Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield and Cumberland, accounted for a third of Sydney’s poker machine losses in the first half of 2023. Cumberland councillor Steve Christou reportedly supports the idea as does mayor Ned Mannoun of Liverpool.
Carbone says that clubs are currently subjected to a maximum gaming tax rate of 26.55 per cent on profits exceeding AU$5m per quarter. ClubsNSW argues that clubs have already paid AU$1.4bn in state and federal taxes.
See also: Australia: player losses on pokies reach US$9.7bn in the past year
Meanwhile, the NSW government is reviewing the ClubGRANTS scheme amid revelations about the largest grants being directed back into club operations. Local Government NSW recently passed a resolution supporting local administration and delivery.
