[polldaddy poll=8206557]UK Government officials have announced a 15 percent point of consumption tax on remote gambling services provided to British players starting in December. Currently, companies only need to pay taxes in the country that issued their license.
We decide to ask our readers, “Will any Gibraltar or IOM operators move back to London after the 15% tax is implemented?”
The result is pretty close. Leading the vote, 55 percent said Yes and 45 percent said No.
Isle of Man and Gibraltar are just two of the most popular locations chosen by operators, along with a few countries in the Caribbean. These companies enjoyed reasonable tax rates rather than the heavy taxes of the UK.
The UK Government has decided to put a stop to that as they are perfectly aware of how valuable the UK consumer market is and now they want companies to pay the price to have an access to it.
Experts say that introducing the tax will not entice companies to move their operations to the UK thus contributing even more to the government coffers but in order to attract investors is to reduce taxes or offer benefits. This will not induce any of them to relocate to the UK just to avoid dealing with a new regulatory body.
For instance, in Isle of Man, there is no capital gains tax, no wealth tax, no stamp duty, no death tax, no inheritance tax, a top personal income tax rate of 20 percent, import tax of 20 percent and 0 percent corporate income tax. Moreover, in Gibraltar, there is no capital gains tax, no wealth tax, no VAT, 12 percent import tax and 10 percent corporate income tax.
Comparing those numbers to UK proper taxation where corporate tax has been 26 percent since 2011. In addition, businesses located in Britain have to pay capital gains and inheritance taxes, motoring, excise, VAT, as well as national insurance and now an additional 15% point of consumption tax.
Gambling is a profitable industry but only few companies can afford to pay the 15 percent tax and get a UK license. The choice is clear—tax policies in the Isle of Man and Gibraltar are more beneficial than the proposed UK gambling laws and taxes.
For this week’s poll, we decided to ask our readers, “How do your spend most of your time on the Internet?” Check back next week to see what our readers have to say.
