Labour wants betting tax raised to 1.5%

The labour Party in Ireland is convinced that the financial situation of the Irish racing industry needs to be improved but some of its proposals have been criticised as unworkable. A document published last month suggested that a dramatic increase in offshore internet and telephone betting had caused a reduction in the tax take and the solution is to license all companies taking bets in Ireland and levy a 1.5% tax or else have their sites blocked by the service providers in this country. There is a current levy of 1% and a proposal to increase this to 2% was dropped last year (see our article) but following a report from Horse Racing Ireland in which they reported a decline in nearly all forms of gambling which was affecting their funding they called for a review of the situation. Labour has estimated that such a levy could bring in around €90 million which could be used to increase funding for the Horse and Greyhound Fund and provide funding for development for other sports. Speaking on behalf of the Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mary Upton said that any moves such as this should not result in a legal challenge quoting countries such as Italy, France and Portugal who have introduced their own measures. Betfair spokesman Graham Ross was a little less sure saying that some of the proposals were unworkable and could result in less tax being paid to the state while Paddy Power said it was quite happy to pay an online tax but that it had to be fair and equitable and closing down a site was not the solution as smaller sites would merely change name and start up again. At this stage everything is only at the proposal stage so we shall keep our eyes on it and keep you informed.