British racing's fight to avoid 'worst kind of stealth tax' creates strange bedfellows
When the government recently launched a consultation about proposals to harmonise online gambling rates, ministers made a number of claims about the potential benefits.
Aside from greater certainty and fairness, the simplicity that harmonisation would provide was the main theme. Bringing together the three taxes – general betting duty (GBD), pool betting duty (PBD) and remote gaming duty (RGD) – would create "a simpler, streamlined system that is easier for operators to navigate" according to James Murray, exchequer secretary to the Treasury.
Others are not so sure that the claims hold water, nor that simplification is the main motivation.
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Published on inOn The Money
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- 'Give them pain and discomfort' - British racing told to make life tough for government as battle lines are drawn over tax consultation
- The governance gambit: Lord Allen's next move could make or break British racing
- Levy talks are stuck in the starting stalls - and tax consultation promises to deepen the stalemate
- Record betting turnover and most viewers this century - here's how the Kentucky Derby did it and what British racing can learn
- How a vague threat has been turned into an alarming reality for British racing