British racing's fight to avoid 'worst kind of stealth tax' creates strange bedfellows
When the government recently launched a consultation about proposals to harmonise online gambling rates, ministers made a number of claims about the potential benefits.
Aside from greater certainty and fairness, the simplicity that harmonisation would provide was the main theme. Bringing together the three taxes – general betting duty (GBD), pool betting duty (PBD) and remote gaming duty (RGD) – would create "a simpler, streamlined system that is easier for operators to navigate" according to James Murray, exchequer secretary to the Treasury.
Others are not so sure that the claims hold water, nor that simplification is the main motivation.
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Published on inOn The Money
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