Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown backs a proposal to double gambling taxes and to use the money to fight child poverty in Britain. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is calling on lawmakers to increase taxes on the gambling industry and use the resulting funds to help half a million children who are currently living in poverty. He referenced a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) which projected that such a hike could generate an extra £3.2bn ($4.3bn) annually.
In a piece with The Guardian, the former Labour PM mentioned that child poverty levels are at an all-time high since records began in Britain and are worse than most countries in Europe.
A big gripe of his is the cap on child support, which only allows a parent to get child-related tax credits and Universal Credit for their first two children. He believes the gambling tax hike can eliminate this limitation. His plan would focus mainly on slot machines and online gambling rather than lotteries or bingo.
hiking online casino taxes to 50% from the current 21% level
The IPPR report proposed drastically increasing gaming machine rates to 50% from 20%, and hiking online casino taxes to 50% from the current 21% level.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) represents the interests of gambling operators and called the proposal “economically reckless and factually misleading.” It believes such a hike would just lead to more people turning to unregulated offshore sites and would ultimately not generate the tax impetus that is being suggested.
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