In Australia the federal government has given itself the power to tax clubs and hotels to cover the huge cost of running the bureaucracy that will oversee voluntary pre-commitment technology on poker machines.
Chapter 6 of the government’s recently tabled National Gambling Reform Bill 2012 gives the Commonwealth the power to charge clubs and hotels a “supervisory levy” on each poker machine they operate. The government has omitted any reference to the new tax from three media releases issued in support of the new legislation.
The poker machine tax would be paid quarterly to the regulator on behalf of the federal government. It would have no cap, which means it can be introduced or increased at any time by the federal government without any change to the law, and its size will be set after the federal parliament votes on the legislation.
It would also be charged regardless of whether the government’s pre-commitment system is operational and it would not be determined by machine revenue. This means a poker machine that earns just a few dollars would be taxed the same amount as a high roller machine at a casino.
The executive director of Clubs Australia, Anthony Ball, said any new tax would be on top of the cost of installing voluntary pre-commitment on every poker machine in Australia. “The government’s legislation includes giving itself the power to tax clubs and hotels to cover the cost of administering a voluntary pre-commitment system,” he said.
“This power to tax is effectively an admission that a federal bureaucracy is going to be needed to run the voluntary pre-commitment technology. Australia’s 11 million club members have every right to be disappointed that the government has not publicly raised this new taxation power despite participating in dozens of media opportunities.
“The legislation has been written with very little detail and doesn’t reveal what the tax rate would be or when it could start. Members of Parliament are now being asked to vote on legislation to introduce voluntary pre-commitment without knowing if that technology comes with a new tax for every club and hotel.
“Similarly, clubs are being asked to support legislation without knowing what the full cost of that support would be or how it could increase in the future. The government needs to be completely up front and honest regarding this new taxation power.”
