On the racecourses…
But not a day when racing is firing blanks…
An industry that can sometimes indulge in foot shooting and “vested” will today unite at Westminster. With the greater good cutting through the insular interests of some…
If you have a jot of interest in this great sport and the present headwinds, you will know what today is all about. And so I will not bore you with a long diatribe of repetition…
Just to say that the impact of a harmonisation of betting tax to 21% from the present 15% on horse racing will result in an annual hit to the sport’s balance sheet of circa £66 million. It is surmised that 77,000 jobs will be lost across the industry as a direct result….
Entirely unsustainable, and any savvy bean counter should be able to understand the potentially devastating consequences…
But “savvy” does not seem to be prevalent amongst Treasury folk right now…
Racing will shout its case from several rooftops today. A united front for once…
The fact that Gordon Brown has aligned the potential revenue stream from harmonisation to child poverty is a red herring and should be viewed as such. That child poverty exists on these islands is abhorrent and sickening – but to somehow align that dread situation to betting tax is disingenuous and wrong….
We shall see…
Rachel not to the Dispatch Box until the end of November. Much water under several bridges…
