NSW and Victoria set to follow SA’s point of consumption lead

NEW South Wales is leading the charge to follow South Australia’s point of consumption tax lead into a nation-wide tax crackdown that could generate millions for state and federal governments.

The NSW budget last week said it was investigating introducing a similar consumption tax to that which starts in South Australia July 1, 2017. The Victorian Budget papers from early May also confirmed that state is working towards adopting the same tax.

South Australia’s new gambling tax is estimated to be worth about $9.2 million in additional annual income for the state, a similar tax in Victoria is believed to be worth up to ten times that amount in potential revenue.

If the Gov’t truly wants to raise revenue it should place a point of consumption tax on pokies, not online gambling https://t.co/TU8itPaDfO

— Josh Humbler (@humblerj) June 25, 2017

A NSW Treasury spokesman said all states were working with the Federal Government to investigate the merit of implementing the tax at an Australia-wide level.

“A range of harmonisation options may be considered, and a common approach, if adopted, will include a national consumer protection framework on online gambling,” the spokesman said.

The spokesperson went on to say a point of consumption tax would help State Government fund problem gambling solutions directly.

“The harm from gambling occurs at the point of consumption, so a point of consumption tax allows for the alignment of gaming tax revenue, some of which can be applied to addressing social costs.”

The new tax is being mooted for 2018-19 and will hit Northern Territory-registered corporate bookmakers hard – including Sportsbet, CrownBet, William Hill and Bet365.

It is likely the NT government will oppose the consumption tax, which would level the playing field for a gambling operators, given totalisator providers Tabcorp and Tatts Group, which will soon merge, have to pay much higher taxes than the corporate bookmakers.

However, Racing authorities are now questioning what share of the point of consumption tax will go to the industry. It is understood if the point of consumption tax was introduced in Victoria, over a quarter of the $130 million would be expected to go directly back to the racing industry.

Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’Landys said the state would take a “wait and see” approach, electing to see how the South Australian tax plays out before making a concerted effort to push the point of consumption play.

“We are going to wait and see what happens with this, though there’s no doubt NSW will not miss out.”

Our take – the point of the consumption tax needs to be pure

A lot of NT-based bookmakers have been getting a free ride in the tax department recently, and that seems likely to change Australia-wide, despite their protests.

But can the point of consumption tax be beneficial to punters, the industry and the wider community as a collective?

We think it can.

If the governments are earnest in their assertions that not only will the industry get a piece of the pie, but problem gambling will be addressed at a state level, the revenue raising scheme can be commended. However, we would like to see the framework before we commend the consumption tax.

We have seen before that the governments have had a propensity to exploit these taxes and pocket all the revenue for themselves, which would be an unmitigated disaster. The racing industry is currently thriving from metropolitan to a country level, and any increase in funding could see it rise even further.

As treasurer Scott Morrison said to states and territories four months ago, this needs to be a beneficial tax for all parties, and not just a matter of “raising revenue for revenue’s sake”.

A point of consumption tax – if implemented correctly – will help grow racing exponentially and help address problem gambling around the country. It is a big if though.

It’s not like the government has ever lied to us before though, is it?