Welfare Group demands to revise online gambling legislation

The South Australian Council of Social Services called on the government to tax gambling companies in the jurisdictions where the bets are placed rather than where the companies are based.

Australia.- The South Australian Council of Social Services wants the government to amend legislation regarding online gambling in Australia, to ensure that taxes are paid where bets are placed.

Since under current laws companies are charged in the jurisdiction where they are based, rather than the place where the bet is placed, the welfare group affirms that the regions of the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island  are being used to avoid taxes,

Ross Womersley, chief executive of the welfare group, claims that taxing companies according to the place where bets are placed  results in the state missing out on tax income. That is the main reason why he calls on the government to change the current legislation.

“When a gambling corporation does not have to be incorporated or resident in a jurisdiction, but can still use the license of a jurisdiction like Norfolk Island to lessen their taxes, I think we have gone beyond real business and are talking about virtual tax havens and (legal) tax avoidance,” expressed Womersley. “Because of the way the license arrangements are made, South Australia is missing out on a whole lot of tax income. Given that the gambling industry generates a high level of problems, major issues in our community, we think that it’s absolutely important that the industry meets its social responsibilities in the form of taxation,” he added.