D N A
7th July 2010
by Joe williams
Taxing times for Royal Western India Turf Club
INCREASE IN TAX COULD HIT RACING HARD; PUNE SEASON STARTS ON JULY 15.
Pune: After a lull in racing in this part of the country (western India), the Pune season is set to kick off on July 15. However, the Maharashtra government’s decision to increase the tax on horse racing from 10 to 20% is expected to hit the sport hard.
“It (the hike) is a setback. We will have to work things out accordingly,” Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) chairman Vivek Jain told DNA on Tuesday. “The government has increased taxes after almost a decade. Initially, it was tough to digest the news. But we have to move on. We hope the punters and public look at it the same way,” Jain added.
The revised taxes came into effect from April 1. This hike will not be applicable to the bets laid with official bookmakers but on RWITC’s tote operations. This means that dividend payouts of winners will fall. What’s more, it will also affect collections in a big way.
The worst hit will be the combined jackpot pool operations wherein bets from Bangalore, Mysore and Chennai are pooled together. This makes it an attractive betting option for jackpot hunters. If the RWITC levies 20% betting tax on its jackpot pool collections, the amount available for appropriation will be lesser than the contribution of its southern counterparts.
THE HIKE WILL NOT BE APPLICABLE TO THE BETS LAID WITH OFFICIAL BOOKMAKERS BUT ON RWITC’S TOTE OPERATIONS. THIS OBVIOUSLY MEANS THAT DIVIDEND PAYOUTS OF WINNERS WILL FALL. IT WILL ALSO AFFECT COLLECTIONS IN A BIG WAY.
