RACING TAXATION

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 80, 1 October 1931, Page 12

RACING TAXATION

The appeal made by the Racing Conference and the Trotting Association for some relief from the present heavy taxation demands calm and unprejudiced, consideration. At fust some people will probably be inclined to say: "Why give relief to racing when burdens are being increased on. industry?" But such a statement does not cover the real issue. The Legislature in the past has dealt separately with the ethical and the revenue aspects of racing. It has limited the number of race-days and placed restrictions on betting. That course has been guided by ethical considerations. Its taxation measures have been designed not to kill racing or to hamper it, but to obtain the maximum revenue from what appeared to be an easy source. This revenue question is the one raised by the < racing deputation. The evidence submitted is that if the scale of taxation is maintained the operations •of racing clubs will be so hampered that the State's revenue will fall considerably. In recent years the Government has drawn over half a million annually in the taxes from racing. If. an attempt is made lo J^k§ £a fig^al amount now; ihc

probability is that the yield will not be maintained, but very considerably reduced. ' It may not be understood exactly how heavy the taxation is. The Government takes 5 per cent, from totalisator investments and the racing clubs retain 7-J per cent. In addition the Government takes 5 per cent, of the dividends and 5 per, cent, on stakes. The Government thus has three bites at the money put on the totalisator: firstly, when it goes on; secondly, when it comes out in dividends; and, thirdly, when the racing club share is paid out in stakes. Almost l 3i per cent, of the annual sum of totalisator investments goes to the State. Some may say: "Well, 7| per, cent, is not much"; but it is 7^ per cent,, not on profit, but on gross turnover. Setting aside the racing club share, the Government very quickly gets the whole of the racing man's money. At 7^ per cent, each pound put into the totalisator comes back (again omitting the club's share) as 18s 6d. The racegoer must then find another Is 6d to make up the pound. In less than fourteen bets (two days' racing) if he has lost only the. Government taxation (that means no other racegoer has gained at his expense), he has put in £2 Is and he has £1. The Government has the rest. When the taxation is looked at in this way it is easy to understand that taxation— purely from the viewpoint of safeguarding the return —may be overdone. In actual fact the position is much worse, as the clubs, to keep racing going, must take more of the racegoers' money. ' -