A report in the Irish Times says the country will consider a tax break for smaller operators who generate a yearly turnover below €2.5 million.
Ireland is currently revising its more than 50-year-old gambling code. The report said Finance Minister Paschal Donohue is prepared to listen to the concerns presented by the Irish Bookmakers Association about taxing smaller operators, especially in the country’s horseracing industry.
Donohue has said the Fine Gael government will maintain a 2 percent turnover tax on bookmaker revenues, despite warnings of significant job losses across the Irish betting sector.
That has led to consideration of a new tax-free turnover threshold of €2.5 million and a 1 percent turnover tax on bookmakers with a turnover of €5 million a year. However, the government would maintain the 2 percent turnover on bigger operators generating €750 million in wager annually.
Treasury calculations report that the introduction of the €2.5 million tax-free threshold, would cut industry tax collections by around €3.5 million.
