The severe economic climate is not set to improve for Bingo Halls across the UK, who had hoped that the government might relent after a series of strong complaints about the extra VAT imposed on the land-based UK Bingo industry.Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming had taken up the cause of UK Bingo Halls, asking for the extra VAT be scrapped, as the bingo online industry overall tax rates amount to 32% in comparison to other sectors of the gambling industry with a much lower rate of just 15%.
As reported by the BBC today, the government has decided that the VAT rate for the Bingo industry will remain the same, and does not accept that the higher VAT rate is the root cause of the current problems faced by the Bingo industry as a whole.
Mr Hemming said that scrapping VAT for the internet bingo industry would only cost the government about £10 million, and that more than 100 Bingo Halls had closed over the last six years claiming more than 3,500 job losses. He also claimed that ministers 'had it in' for the industry and it's predominantly working-class members.
Secretary to the Exchequer, Angela Eagle, ruled that altering the VAT rate for the Bingo industry would not solve any problems, and claimed that the actual tax rate for the industry stands at 25% not the 32% as claimed by Mr Hemming.
Ms Eagle said that other sectors of the gambling industry were subject to different forms of taxation, and that the online bingo sector is subject to the average level of taxation across most gambling forms.
Source: http://bingostreet.com/
