Government Respond to Back Bingo Campaign
Here are bingo babble we wholeheartedly support the back bingo campaign, where the UK land based bingo industry have been lobbing the Government to reduce the bingo tax increase from 22%, back down in line with other gaming sectors at 15%. A petition was set up on the 10 Downing st website by Michael Holden, of which it received 2,577 signatures. The UK Government have now responded to this petition and you can read the full response of what they had to say here.
Read the Government’s response
The Government continues to recognise the important social role played by bingo clubs in many communities.
Budget 2009 introduced a package of reforms intended to simplify the bingo tax regime, continuing a process of reform that began in 2003. Bingo participation fees became VAT exempt, and bingo duty was increased to 22%. The Bingo industry had been campaigning for some time for VAT exemption on bingo participation fees, and the bingo duty increase should not be seen in isolation.
The Treasury’s estimate of bingo’s effective tax rate before the Budget was 24-25%, an estimate agreed with the industry. The effective tax rate on bingo, now at 22%, is comparable to the average effective tax rates on gaming machines, casinos and the national lottery, all of which are taxed within a 20-25% range. Before the Budget the effective tax rate on bingo was estimated at 24-25%, which in turn was down from 35% as recently as 2003.
The bingo industry will benefit from the increased allocation of category B3 gaming machines (machines typically found in bingo halls that can offer up to a £500 prize) that a club may offer. The maximum allocation was increased from 4 to 8 in February 2009. The industry will also benefit from social regulation changes recently implemented by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. The changes double the stake and prize limits for category C gaming machines, to £1/£70.
Estimates from BACTA, the amusement machine trade association, suggest that gaming machine revenue could be boosted by as much as 20% following these changes. At Budget 2009 the Government amended the amusement machine licence duty categories to realign with the new regulations.
The Government recognises the challenges faced by the bingo industry, including changing tastes and greater competition in the wider leisure sector. The Government continues to engage with the bingo industry about the state of the sector and the impact of taxation.
Related Posts
- No related posts found
Add a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.