Despite a recent appearance from foreigh secretary David Miliband to a local bingo hall, it is understood that the treasury will still remain firm on its controversial new tax increases for the bingo industry. In a letter penned to former treasury minister Yvette Cooper, Sarah McCarthy Fry, the current secretary to the Treasury stated that full consideration was given to the ailing bingo industry before the recent changes were announced. In the letter, it is also stated that the industry will be better off under the new changes and they will not have an adverse effect on the bingo world. Instead, the letter blames the decline on the industry due to broader changes in taste in society, with new habits and new recreational activities resulting in a loss of revenue due to declining numbers of membership.
However, industry figures have been quick to point out many potential harmful outcomes resulting from the Governments new bingo tax. The new regime has scrapped a dual system of VAT payments on revenues, bringing all games in line at 22 per cent. According to reports, this followed concerns raised by Yvette Cooper, who was currently working in the treasury, that Prize bingo games were exempt from VAT. As a result, the new treasury team sort to remedy the situation by imposing a 22% tax across all games, resulting in what seem deem as an “unintended consequence” and many view as particularly harsh, due to a five point jump from the previous 17% duty payable by the land based bingo industry. A representative from a Ritz Bingo club, Mr Dave Holt, apparently had a meeting with Cooper prior to the announcement of the new system of charges in April, where these reports came to light.
However, in a further twist, the letter by McCarthy Fry states that this had been taken into account. What has left many offline bingo operators baffled is that at 22%, the land based bingo industry is currently the highest taxed gambling sector, despite also being the softest form of gaming. With the recession biting and many bingo operators forced to tighten their belts in light of the smoking ban and the growing popularity of online bingo, it is widely thought that the introduction of a higher level of taxation will mean many smaller clubs will have little choice but to close their doors. Many alliances and associations have been formed to convince the government to consider a reduction of around 4 points to help secure the future of what has become a national pastime and vital part of contemporary British culture. Despite a recent debate in the House of Commons regarding the grave implications from the new tax measures, most Labour MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of their implementation, with little interest from the Conservative party and the main dissent from Lib Dem MPs.
We can only hope that as news of club closures become increasingly commonplace, the Government will finally wake up to the possibility that the new measures will force many bingo clubs in towns all over the UK and reconsider its crippling measures on the beleagured bingo industry.
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