UK Treasury reportedly drops plans for new unified gambling tax
The horseracing sector had campaigned against the proposal to merge three gambling taxes into one.
UK.- Amid expectation that chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce a gambling tax rise in the autumn budget this month, it seems that at least some gambling stakeholders may have received a respite. It’s been reported that the government has dropped plans to unify three separate taxes under a new Remote Betting and Gaming Tax.
Proposed in consultation documents published in April, the idea was to merge three current tax categories – Remote Gaming Duty, General Betting Duty, and Pool Betting Duty – to simplify the tax framework. However, the horseracing sector strongly opposed the move, arguing that horseracing betting should be treated differently to online slots and that the industry would be hit hard if the tax rates were unified.
The proposal has also been put in doubt by calls within the Labour Party for a rise in Remote Gaming Duty, which have meant a doubly heavy hit for horseracing if horeracing betting were subject to the same rate. Citing anonymouse sources, The Telegraph has now claimed that the Treasury has ditched the idea of a unified tax.
That would mean a victory for the British Horseracing Authority’s Axe the Tax campaign, but it could also lend more certainty to the belief that a rise in Machine Gaming Duty (MGD) and Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) are on the way. These currently stand at 20 and 21 per cent respectively.
The proposal from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Social Market Foundation is to raise them to 50 per cent. Last week, a Treasury Committee listened to arguments from both sides on the proposal, including from representatives of the Betting and Gaming Council.
The Autumn Budget will be announced on November 26.
