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Britain May Reform Betting Tax Structure25 January 2001LONDON -- As reported by The Independent: "The Government is giving serious consideration to the possible abolition of betting tax, a Treasury minister confirmed Tuesday. Stephen Timms, the financial secretary to the Treasury, told the annual seminar of the British Betting Offices Association that changes to the current system of tax paid on bets could "build the foundations for [the] long- term success" of the bookmaking industry. The precise nature of any reforms to the taxation of betting will not become clear until the Budget in March. Timms, however, said that the Government "wants to introduce reforms that will play to the real strength of the betting industry in the UK, its integrity, its skills, its experience and the quality of the sporting event it is based on." The removal of betting tax paid by punters, in favour of a tax on bookmakers' gross profits, would attract back to Britain business which has recently been drifting to low-deduction bookies overseas. "We want to make sure that by making the UK industry more competitive, we bring betting back onshore and welcome a new international market to this country," Timms said. |