A change to gambling laws in the country is something that the Irish government quite likes partaking in. Today’s news is that there have been various recommendations that betting tax should be doubled to 2% so that it can be used to finance the entire horseracing industry.
Responsibility for the industry falls under the mandate of the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, who in this weekend’s Sunday Business Post, gave his weight to the new tax proposals
‘‘I’m determined that we put sufficient revenue from betting tax into covering the entire fund of the horseracing industry. At the moment the betting tax is 1 per cent and I would like to see that raised to 2 per cent,” he said
The tax was originally recommended by the McCarthy Report and would mean that the horseracing and greyhound industry would be entirely funded through the tax.
Coveney added, ‘Once we deal with the issue of extending the tax to online betting, we should consider the rate.
“I consider the 1 per cent rate to be low and I think it could be increased to help the exchequer and the industry. But I am also aware of the concerns of bookmakers.”
Ever since December’s budget, it was announced that changes were going to be made to the tax regime involving gambling companies in Ireland and many of the stalwarts have been up in arms. The 1% turnover tax on online operators were proposed back then and given universal derision amongst Irish companies and the latest plans aren’t likely to receive a better reception.
The news isn’t likely to do a lot of good for the public companies either as we’ve seen the negative reactions markets can have to any chance in tax regimes, although it should be noted that this is nowhere as extreme as the plans muted in Germany.
