by Anton Johan
Rank Group, the leading UK gambling company, has urged the government
to reconsider its current taxation regime.
The group called on the government to introduce a flat tax rate of 15% in the
UK for all betting and gaming services.
At present, the UK has seven different taxes relating to some or all of the
market's sectors.
Rank issued a report called the 'Responsible Taxation - Fairness, Simplicity,
Sustainability' which explains why a flat tax rate would be more appropriate for
the current gambling landscape in the United Kingdom.
Among the benefits cited were:
- An increase in tax income.
- The creation of more jobs in the UK.
- Competitive equality with offshore operators who have better tax havens.
- Lower admin costs through the creation of a uniform system.
The Chief Executive of Rank, Ian Burke, said about the proposal: "At the
moment the gaming and betting activities of UK consumers are subject to a
patchwork quilt of taxation, without any apparent logic or relationship to
social policy."
"It is particularly concerning that the current system of taxation seems to
be undermining the aims of the Gambling Act by imposing the highest rates of
duty on those venues which provide the greatest degree of supervision and have
the lowest rates of underage gambling," he argued.
