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added on 2010-09-27 04:11:16
The Irish Examiner newspaper notes that thousands of jobs and a third of the betting shops would be lost, if a proposed 2 percent tax on winning bets is introduced in December's budget. The Finance Minister Brian Lenihan wants to introduce a controversial measure which could raise around €60 million a year for the budget.
The 2 percent tax on all winning bets could cause the closure of one-third of the existing betting shops and punters would be driven to overseas betting services. IBA chairwoman Sharon Byrne thinks that 400 of the 1,200 betting shops would shut up overnight, killing jobs in the industry. The system counts approximately 6,500 employees in Irish betting shops.
"The direct impact of any new taxation along the lines reported would be job losses, shop closures and the migration of even more of the betting trade to overseas online and telephone betting operators. Ireland needs jobs to rebuild our economy. Any proposal, therefore, that would lead to further job losses - in a sector that has already seen a significant decline in the last two year period - should not be progressed by the Government. The IBA believes that any new taxation proposals must be comprehensively stress-tested to ensure that they do not have a negative impact on employment," said Sharon Byrne, Chairperson of the IBA.
Ireland currently has the lowest betting tax in the EU. Bookmakers pay a 1 percent levy on every bet placed in betting shops, while online wagers are not taxed yet. Bookies say the proposed tax would drive their customers away to overseas online and telephone operators and they will be forced to compete with offshore online betting operators. Ireland's currently annual revenue from gambling is of 31 million Euro, compared to 67 million in 2001.
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