Irish finance minister ditches proposed gambling tax increase

Paschal Donohoe, the Irish Minister of Finance, has announced that the government will not impose a doubling of the tax rate on gambling operators…at least not in the 2018 budget, although the possibility may be revisited at some future point.

Donohoe’s finance department had presented three options that could have raised up to Euro 50 million extra from bookies or punters as part of a review of betting tax, but the minister decided to  leave the current 1 percent rate in place, at least for the immediate future, following a number of submissions from a betting industry concerned that an increase could result in closures and job losses.

A statement from the department said: “The minister received a number of submissions for possible inclusion in Budget 2018. He took the decision that any potential actions on foot of the Betting Tax Review should be considered as part of Budget 2019.”

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