Australian back bencher proposes new national gambling tax
News on 5 Nov 2015
News on 5 Nov 2015
The Guardian newspaper in Australia reports that Victoria state Senator Bridget McKenzie has proposed a new federal government national gambling tax and a ban on Aussie punters gambling with foreign operators who are unlicensed in the country.
Her proposal calls for an evenly applied, uniform federal tax of 0.05 percent on turnover in which all states and territories would share, and strict enforcement provisions that would include banking and other blocks on illegal operators.
The tax would be collected by licensed betting operators on all transactions relating to Australian events.
This week McKenzie called for the government’s review of the Interactive Gambling Act to consider her proposals as part of its study and recommendations.
Sen. McKenzie has also reminded prime minister Malcolm Turnbull that she flagged her plans for him whilst he was Communications Minister.
Voicing her concern that sports betting was the fastest growing market in Australia, yet faced minimal taxation, McKenzie opined to the Guardian: “In terms of wagering, the current legal framework doesn’t provide the outcomes we need.”
She told the newspaper that she has raised her proposal in a formal submission to the government’s tax review committee, and will pursue the proposal in a speech when federal parliament resumes next week.
McKenzie has also proposed that a product levy be applied uniformly across all sports in order to raise money for sporting infrastructure and harm minimisation projects. The levy could be made a licensing condition for gaming operators, she suggested.
“A condition of an Australian wagering operating licence will be that any licensee has to ensure that their affiliates pay Australia the product levy on betting by all customers on all Australian sports,” she said, claiming that her proposals address “…the exponential increase in online sports betting and recognise that the internet had made state-based regulatory regimes impractical.”
