Will victoria break from other Aussie states on POC ax?

The Australian state of Victoria, combined with New South Wales the nation’s most populous, is allegedly considering a significantly lower point of consumption tax on internet gambling firms than that declared by other states.

Although Victoria and New South Wales have committed to presenting the tax, they haven’t yet announced whether they will follow Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia at demanding a 15 percent rate based on GGR.

Online betting companies have been campaigning for a lower tax rate, asserting that 15 percent is high and will adversely impact their businesses. The Victorian racing industry is also allegedly concerned that excess taxation could jeopardise online bookmakers’ significant investments in the business.

The Sydney Morning Herald was advised by its origins an announcement on Victoria’s intentions will likely be made sometime this week; say treasurer Tim Pallas last week said it stayed his aim to “make an announcement in the not too distant future”.

“To be clear, I’ve been talking to everybody,” Pallas said, “whether it’s business, sporting codes that believe they will be negatively impacted, other states about the possibility of a broadly consistent approach to the tax’s introduction and, importantly, anti-gaming groups, to ensure we have a clear grasp of their opinion and their expectations about what we deliver. ”

Responsible Wagering Australia, the trade association led by former national authorities minister of communications Stephen Conroy, has been lobbying state authorities for rates lower than 15 percent, pointing out that online betting companies make a significant contribution to the national economy through wages, other taxes, the product fees they pay for sporting codes, and race-field prices paid into the country racing bodies for the use of racing information.

A spokesman for the New South Wales authorities told the SMH the state’s tax rate on the p.o.c. issue remains under consideration.