Why wasn't gambling taxed??

shaca

Surely they could have put a 5 or 10% tax on gambling. If people can afford to gamble they can afford to pay a tax on it like they used to..

Dannyboy83

A number of new jobs were created in the gambling industry recently, branching into France and other countries.

[innocent suggestion=genuine]
Perhaps they are scared of destroying the few new job creations out there?
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1112/paddypower.html
[/innocent suggestion]

ardmacha

There is no point whatsoever putting a tax on gambling that just leads to people using websites located outside the State.

jmayo

Bertie and probably some other FFers use it as a means to make lots of cash

gent9662

shaca wrote: »

Surely they could have put a 5 or 10% tax on gambling. If people can afford to gamble they can afford to pay a tax on it like they used to..

Totally agree, most of the gambling institutions in this country are owned by wealthy tax exiles who do not keep the money in Ireland.

For example: Dermot desmond

ArmaniJeanss

shaca wrote: »

Surely they could have put a 5 or 10% tax on gambling. If people can afford to gamble they can afford to pay a tax on it like they used to..

There are already 2 forms of gambling tax (in bookies offices).
A 2% tax on bets which is currently absorbed by (almost) all bookies.
A tax on bookmakers profits.

This has proved a better source of revenue for the government than the previous method of 10% (20% at one stage) tax on bets, which would be too much to absorb by the bookies and would drive us gamblers to the internet where we could legally bet taxfree in various Gibraltar, Isle of Man and Malta based gambling sites (where the big English bookies host their offshore businesses).

shoegirl

Not just gambling but the whole horsey set in general. There are still massive amounts of taxpayers money being pumped into the industry in terms of grants and tax breaks. It seems that horses matter much more than people.

1% tax on a luxury is a joke when you are paying 21% VAT on essentials.

Oh and incidentally, that 1% is suppsedly ringfenceed for reinvenstment back into the horsey/doggy racing private, profiteering quango.

Healio

shaca wrote: »

Surely they could have put a 5 or 10% tax on gambling. If people can afford to gamble they can afford to pay a tax on it like they used to..

There is a 2% tax on all land based bets.

dermo88

I am sorry to upset many people here who regard gambling as a milk cow to be taxed to the hilt. However, here is the reality.

Gambling for gamblings sake is dying, or has died. It has become a speculative activity closer to the stock market, albeit sports based.

I will give an example from 10 years ago, when I did not have a credit/debit card or an online betting account. This is on American Football or NFL.

St Louis Rams +7.5 points @ 83 pence per Irish Pound with Hacketts
New England Patriots -6.5 @ 83 pence per Irish Pound with Ladbrokes.

Well.....these are two UK/Irish based bookmakers offering those odds, and I can go for a "middle" and hope the game ends on a touchdown, win both sides.

Throw in that factor, and its happy christmas.

Now.....I then have to pay a 10% betting tax to take advantage of that opportunity, and it suddenly becomes

110-83
110-83

So far, so good. You will drive the trade offshore. Please realise that you do not make a poor man rich by making a rich man poor. Please realise that if you try and block Irish residents and citizens from betting offshore that you are asking for nothing but trouble. Please realise that honest and fair taxes make honest taxpayers. Martin Cullen, a Minister from Waterford PROPOSED blocking the internet to online gaming sites to prevent this. Some genius he was, I had to laugh at his failure to understand GLOBALISATION. They want all of the priviledges BUT none of the responsibilities.

Meanwhile, I could go to an offshore betting company, and get the same arbitrage opportunity and get

St Louis Rams -6.5 points with Intertops at 91 pence per pound, (at that time) 110-100
New England Patriots +7.5 points with Sportsinteraction at 91 pence per pound 110-100

Wow.....am I going to be patriotic and stick with Irish based companies. Tell you.....go fly kite lah.

Do you realise thats a full 21% difference in value for money;.

And PAY NO TAX.

Ideally, and I suggested it a long time ago to a meeting with people discussing development in the likes of the Aran Islands and the West, is create an offshore betting zone specifically for fluent gaelic speakers, with a call centre, paying 15% gross profit tax, paying income tax and PRSI for well educated IRISH employees, with high speed broadband internet connections and Ireland could be the offshore betting centre for the world. We have the expertise, the maths, the brains, and a long history of involvement with gambling. We have a clue, we have the knowledge, lets take advantage and succeed. If you have not seen that, sweet jesus, its better than any amount of concessions to horse breeding, and you should end up like a fallen horse with a broken leg after a dodgy jump.

Typical socialists such as the French Tote threaten people such as companies such as BWin, arrest them in airports, and EVENTUALLY realise that the European Union is about FREE MARKETS. Some years ago, a company wanted to attack the French Tote along the same lines by GIVING customer 15% above the French Tote dividend. Guess what, they were blocked from doing so.

Their boss was terrified of going to jail. I am not, I am quite prepared to say "go to hell" with European Union Law backing me, and it will. In fact, it would further my career and my earnings 100 fold by taking such a controversial stand.

The people who make such policies fail to understand the difference between a bet on a horse, a bet on Man Utd and share in Eircom, Lehmans, Bank of Ireland are one and the same. One is taxed heavily, one is not. Which one cost the taxpayer more, and which one less.....get a grip for Gods sake.

The reality is this. With the socialist, "lets tax gambling system", you get 10% out of 500 Million Euro Turnover from Ireland alone.
With the free market, you create a tax haven in deprived areas and you get 1.5% of 10 Billion Euro Turnover from the whole world.

Please, I urge all.....public and private sector alike. Lets look forward. Lets look to the future. Let us become those who have that nice mansion in Meath. Let us earn it. Its not handed on a plate. Let us not engage in begrudgery of success. It is not earned by living on the politics of envy. Its earned by belief in success.

Answers on a postcard comrade Lenin.