Bookmaker issues `tax` threat British off-course punters could still finish up paying tax on their bets despite their Government`s intention to abolish betting duty, it was claimed today. In last month`s Budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced the abolition of betting tax from January 1sr next year. However, reports suggest that if racing`s rulers get their way then backers could expect to pay up to five per cent on off-course bets. A 27-page submission by the betting industry to the Home Office has warned that if the Government agrees to British Horseracing Board plans for a new funding system through the sale of media rights (both the BHB`s pre-race data and racecourse-owned pictures), the sport could charge bookmakers whatever it liked. Racing, which currently receives stg£60m a year from the Levy system, is rumoured to want a sum equivalent to four per cent of turnover in future - around stg£280m per annum. Warwick Bartlett, of the newly-formed Confederation of Bookmakers, said: 'Four per cent would be a ridiculous amount and if they charged it they would be abusing their dominant position and we would be justified in going to the Office of Fair Trading. 'If it went ahead the punters are going to have to pay. The four per cent would be passed on to the customer - in fact it would have to be five per cent to offset the fall in turnover. That would undermine the fabric of what the Government is trying to do by abolishing betting tax. 'It is the first opportunity since 1966 to bet tax free and these people are going to destroy it. The Government is going to see what`s happening and put the tax back on.' Negotiations for the 41st and final Levy are due to take place later this year. Bartlett went on: 'The Levy worked because it provided income which was tax free. 'What the bookmakers are saying is that the Levy system has served racing well and the sale of any media rights would be subject to VAT and that would therefore mean that income would be reduced by a fifth. 'We would want something sorted out by the autumn because we are then due to negotiate the 41st Levy deal, which is supposed to be the last.'
