Raising betting tax would ‘lead to shop closures, job losses’

The chair of the Irish Bookmakers Association, Sharon Byrne, says calls for a doubling of the betting tax will result in the closure of betting shops and job losses.

Ms Byrne was responding to a suggestion from the horse racing industry to the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to double the betting tax from one per cent to two per cent.

The increase would potentially increase the tax take from €50 million to €100 million, according to the horse racing industry.

Ms Byrne told Newstalk Breakfast on Wednesday that the proposal was on turnover, not profit and if it was imposed, it would lead to the closure of some of the Republic’s 851 betting shops.

Cliff Taylor: Latest tax figures point to limited budget wriggle room

---

Pay deal will use up about one-third of budgetary leeway

---

Off-licences call for alcohol excise duty cut to curb Brexit effects

---

Paschal Donohoe orders study of USC and PRSI merger

---

“This is a tax on turnover and is in addition to all the other taxes they already pay,” she said.

She said a betting shop with a turnover of €2 million has a profit of only €9,000 to €9,500 after all taxes and expenses, while at 2 per cent, betting tax would be €20,000.

The cost base for betting shops had doubled in the past eight to 10 years and during that time over 2,000 jobs had been lost, she said.

There were three closures in the past month and 450 closures in the past 10 years, according to Ms Thompson.