Omaze in court over tax dispute on luxury house prize draws
Luxury house prize draw platform Omaze has appealed against HMRC over whether paid entries in its prize draws are subject to standard-rate VAT. Omaze lists itself on its website as “not a charity raffle, house or cash raffle or house or cash lottery but a prize draw”. An organisation that offers a free entry route [...]
City AM reports that Omaze, a luxury house prize draw platform, has appealed against HMRC over a tax dispute regarding whether paid entries in its prize draws are subject to standard-rate VAT. Omaze lists itself as a prize draw, not a charity raffle, house or cash raffle or house or cash lottery but a prize draw. HMRC categorises the service as a prize draw, meaning its paid entries do not qualify for the VAT exemption that regulated lotteries receive.
The appeal, which will be decided in Spring next year, seeks clarity and consistency in how VAT applies across the prize draw industry, as Omaze has raised over £150m for UK charities and is one of the few prize draw operators HMRC has required to pay VAT on sales.
Brief written by urgent.news from City AM's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
