BRITISH BETTING TAX DECISION IN MARCH A final decision on how betting is taxed in Britain will be announced by the chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown, in March`s Budget. A newspaper report today claimed that the government is about to finalise the details of a new deal which would include the abolition of deductions from punters. Bookmakers would be taxed on their profits under the terms of the new arrangements designed to stop the flow of offshore betting. But Claire Morgan, press officer for HM Customs & Excise, said: 'The government`s position hasn`t changed since the pre-budget statement. 'Since then Customs & Excise have had a number of meetings with the industry and Customs & Excise are still in discussion with the industry. 'No decision regarding taxation has yet been taken. 'The decision will be announced by the Chancellor as part of the Budget.' In his pre-Budget statement in November, Brown said: 'Following the consultation announced in Budget 2000, the government believes there is scope to modernise the way betting is taxed in the UK that would provide the right competitive environment for the UK betting industry to thrive, both domestically and internationally, taking full advantage of e-commerce opportunities while protecting the long-term revenues from betting duty and giving punters a better deal. 'The Gross Profits Tax reform outlined in the consultation document is one approach to such a modernising reform. 'Further discussions with the bookmaking industry will be held on how to guarantee that the benefits of any reform could be fairly shared, so that these objectives can be achieved, with a view to an announcement in Budget 2001.'
