MUMBAI MIRROR
23RD JULY 2010
By - Usman Rangeela
Revenue ministry hikes betting tax rates
REALISING THAT it had forgotten to increase the betting tax on bets placed with licensed bookmakers operating at the Mumbai and Pune race course recently, the state’s revenue ministry has now informed the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWIITC) that the bookies will recover 30 per cent tax from punters effective June 1, 2010. The state government had hiked betting tax on the turf club operated totes by 10 per cent earlier in April.
Following this recent hike, punters will have to shell out 36 rupees for every 100 rupee bet they lay with bookmakers. The betting tax hike is expected to have a negative impact on the bets recorded with the official bookmakers as no punter would be willing to bet legally and in turn reduce his returns on investment drastically.
Betting on horse-racing, which is the only legalised form of gambling in the country, has been taxed heavily by the state government over the years.
Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, RWITC chairman Vivek Jain sounded helpless when he said, “What can one do if the government thinks that their revenue will increase if the tax is hiked? The latest hike will have an adverse effect on the collections with the bookmakers.
“The government’s rationale of increasing tax merely because it has not been done for 10 years is not acceptable. The policy at the central level has proved that reduced taxes ensures better compliance and we must do the same,” he added.
