Irish Finance Minister Anxious To Clear Up Betting Tax Confusion

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

09 May 2002

Irish Finance Minister, Charlie McCreevy has taken issue with bookmakers misleading the public over the new betting tax rate, it emerged recently.

In his December budget, Mr McCreevy reduced the rate of betting excise duty from 5% to 2%, in an attempt to persuade the country's leading bookies not to flee to the United Kingdom, where betting tax has been abolished and replaced with a gross profits tax. The new rate became effective on May 1.

In a statement released by the Department of Finance, however, it emerged that some bookmakers have attempted to mislead the betting public on the issue, suggesting that the new rate is, in fact 3%.

'Minister McCreevy wishes to make it unequivocally clear that the actual rate of excise duty is 2%,' the statement reads, continuing: 'The Minister regrets the timing of the move by certain bookmakers to levy another charge which appears at present, to be described as taxes.'

According to the Ministry of Finance, the Revenue Commissioners have been authorised to deal with the offending bookies. However, with the May 17 general election just around the corner in Ireland, the timing of the confusion over betting taxes could not have been worse for Fianna Fail and their junior coalition partners, the Progressive Democrats.

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