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The government of Ireland is studying the possibility of allowing bookies a tax-free turnover of €2.5 million a year. This move would help smaller, independent operators, which are struggling after the betting tax doubled earlier this year.
The ‘Irish Times’ reported that Finance’s Minister Paschal Donohue is prepared to listen to the concerns presented by the Irish Bookmakers Association (IBA) with regards to taxation and its impact on wider Irish stakeholders. Donohue doubled the betting tax earlier this year to 2 per cent of turnover after lobbying from the horse racing industry, which argued that their businesses provide a mainstay for online and high street bookies.
Now the government is reported to be considering introducing a new tax-free turnover threshold of €2.5 million. New betting tax brackets would see the Irish treasury introduce a 1 per cent turnover tax on bookmakers with a turnover of €5 million a year.
If introduced as law, this measure would cut the betting tax collected by the state by €3.4 million in 2020.
However, the government would maintain its controversial 2 per cent turnover on bigger operators generating €750 million in wager annually, despite warnings of significant job losses across the Irish betting sector.
