A report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Racing and Bloodstock criticises UK government plans for online gambling duties.
Critics of proposed plans for online gambling duties in the UK have been compared to the infamous ‘pasty tax’, in a new report from the cross-party APPG, after the plan was revealed in London’s Westminster on Monday, June 16, as reported by Racing Post.
The report, titled Securing Racing’s Future: The Threat to British Horseracing, calls on ministers to take action to defend horseracing from what the group calls a ‘triple whammy’ of threats as a result of government policies, especially as turnover in the sport is already under threat. The most prominent is due to Treasury plans to replace the current three taxes on online gambling with a single duty, putting horse racing bets at the same tax rate as online casino and slot games.
Those within the industry worry this would increase costs for online bookmakers to an unsustainable level, making it harder to promote the sport and eating into horseracing’s own finances. It has been compared to the pasty tax that was proposed by then-Chancellor George Osborne in 2012, a proposal to tax hot snacks that was reversed after strong public opposition.
“In the Treasury, they love equalizing things and tidying things up,” said Conservative MP and APPG co-chair Nick Timothy. “We probably all remember the pasty tax that got George Osborne into so much trouble.
What comes next in the battle against duties?
Acting BHA chief executive Brant Dunshea outlined plans from those working in British racing to run an organized campaign against the proposed duties in the coming months
“We have got examples from all over the world where governments have put in place various forms of interventions, whether they are things like affordability checks or taxation-related increases, that affect people’s engagement with our sport,” he said.
“This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate how those unintended consequences have played out in other jurisdictions and why it is not a good idea to intervene in this way, and we will continue to do that.”
The report featured polls showing that more than half of British people described racing as an important part of British culture. On top of that, more than 60 per cent said that the government has a responsibility to protect the UK’s international sporting standing in horseracing.
A government spokesperson said that they were “grateful” for the input of the report and acknowledged the “huge importance” of horseracing to British culture.
“We have recently launched a consultation on the tax treatment of remote gambling and are actively engaging with the sector, so are grateful to the APPG for their contributions and will consider the report fully,” the spokesperson continued.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
