BHA issues urgent call to arms to 'axe the racing tax' over fears of £66 million hit to the sport's finances

An urgent call to arms has been issued to British racing to oppose the 'racing tax', with government plans to harmonise online gambling duties described as one of the "gravest risks" the sport has ever seen.

The BHA said on Wednesday that Treasury proposals to raise taxes on horserace betting by merging existing online betting duties into one single rate could cost the sport at least £66 million in lost income. It has called on all those involved in British racing to play their part in urging ministers to scrap the plans by writing to their local MP to appeal to the government to urgently rethink the proposals.

The Treasury is busy consulting on plans to replace the existing three-tax structure of online gambling duties with a single Remote Betting and Gaming Duty. Under the current regime, betting on racing and other sports is subject to a 15 per cent duty, but there are fears the government's plans could lead to it being aligned with the 21 per cent rate levied on games of chance such as online casino and slots.

• Comment: Racing Tax would be desperate grab for revenue that would come at the cost of one of Britain's last remaining global success stories  

The BHA outlined economic analysis it had commissioned which showed that such a move could hit British racing’s finances to the tune of £66m in lost income through the levy, media rights and sponsorship, as bookmakers moved to mitigate the tax rises through cutting bonuses, reducing advertising and marketing budgets as well as offering worse-value prices.

Even greater increases would be "devastating" for racing's financial situation, the BHA said, with a projected £97m loss at a tax rate of 25 per cent, a £126m loss at 30 per cent – a rate proposed in recent months by the Institute of Public Policy Research think tank – and a £160m loss at 40 per cent.

Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria at Doncaster racecourse: racing is calling on the government to axe what has been dubbed the 'racing tax'Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Thousands of jobs would be put at risk by such a move, the BHA said, which would severely impact towns and rural communities across Britain. The governing body also warned it would hamper "world-leading" work on equine welfare.

“It is vital that everyone working in racing, the media and bettors fully support and promote this campaign," said acting BHA chief executive Brant Dunshea.

“The government’s consultation on harmonising online betting duties, if followed through, poses one of the gravest risks to racing the sport has ever seen. It will punch a huge hole in racing’s finances, risk thousands of jobs across Britain and threaten the future of the country’s second most-popular sport and a cherished national institution.

"From now until the budget we will be hammering home a very simple message to MPs, peers and the government on behalf of millions of racing fans. It’s time for the government to back British racing and axe the racing tax."

The BHA said the sport would be formally responding to the Treasury’s consultation, which closes on July 21. Ministers have said that no decision would be made on tax rates before the budget in the autumn.

Brant Dunshea: proposals are "one of the gravest risks to racing the sport has ever seen"Credit: Ifha

James Murray MP, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, told the House of Commons this week that he and officials would be working with the horseracing sector "to identify any unintended consequences and possible mitigations" from their proposals, comments which have been welcomed by the BHA.

The BHA's call follows publication last month of a hard-hitting report by a cross-party group of politicians which demanded the government take action to secure the future of British racing.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Racing and Bloodstock claimed the the sport faced a 'triple whammy' of financial threats caused by government policies.

Aside from the tax proposals, British racing's finances have already been hit by affordability checks on bettors, while promises by the previous government to see through reform of the levy system have come to nothing.

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