Would a gambling tax rise in the budget really shut shops and cost jobs?
Most of the betting industry is urging the chancellor not to double slot machine duty to raise up to £460m more a year Gambling industry kingpins are fuming about reports that the chancellor, John Healey, is considering increasing taxes on high-street slot machines in his first budget. The influential Social Market Foundation thinktank, the most vocal advocate for a rise in machine games duty…
The betting industry is protesting against the potential increase in taxes on slot machines, which could be introduced in the Chancellor's upcoming budget. The influential Social Market Foundation thinks that this measure could generate an extra £275m to £460m per year, on top of the current £610m collected annually. However, the proposal has faced significant resistance from some of the industry's biggest players.
The billionaire owner of Betfred, Fred Done, believes that raising the duty from 20% to 40% would lead to shop closures, job losses, and ultimately fail in its goal of increasing tax revenue. Despite this, not everyone in the gambling world shares Done's concerns. Paddy Power co-founder, Stewart Kenny, who has recently become a critic of the industry, has accused Fred Done of "scaremongering."
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