Tasmania will become the latest Australian state to introduce a point of consumption tax after confirming a 15% tax on the net wagering revenues of betting companies from 1 January 2020.
But the size of the tax has been slammed by racing and wagering groups who have described it as one of the highest in the world.
“This tax is almost double that introduced by Victoria’s Labor Government and the Tasmanian Liberal Government now holds the dubious honor of taxing Tasmanians at a higher rate than any other Australian state,” said Responsible Wagering Australia Chairman Nick Minchin.
“The 15% Point of Consumption Tax introduced in South Australia threw a handbrake on that State’s racing industry and has almost brought it to its knees. In South Australia, prizemoney has been cut, field sizes have shrunk, participants have fled interstate and jobs have been lost.
“Starting off a much lower base, the Tasmanian Government has today put that same handbrake onto Tasmanian racing and thrown its future into massive uncertainty.”
The 15% point of consumption tax to be introduced in Tasmania matches that which came into effect in South Australia in July 2017, Queensland in October 2018 and Western Australia in January 2019, but is higher than the 10% tax in NSW and 8% tax in Victoria.
The tax, which provides a tax-free threshold of AU$150,000 on betting turnover, is expected to raise around AU$5 million a year for Australia’s smallest state.
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