New UK Duty Tax Under Fire By The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association

GBGA hopes second court case will stop the introduction of tax levy by its counterpart in the UK.

According to EU gambling news, the regulatory body of Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) will once again appeal to the Royal Courts to have the decision to put in place a new gambling tax regime in the United Kingdom, overturned. The GBGA lost the bid to have the decision stop the new UK tax regime from being introduced by its UK counterpart last year.

The GBGA is up against the the British Government at the Royal Courts of Justice in London to battle for the suppression of the new regime. One of Britain’s well-known lawyers, Lord Pannick Q.C., is head of the team that will speak on behalf of the Gibraltar Government experts. The hearing is scheduled to last around three days.

UK tax regime referred to as discriminatory

The focus of the debate is the tax scheme that was implemented as part of the UK Finance Act 2014 and “the associated notices and guidance issued by HM Revenue and Customs”. The new plan contains a ‘point of consumption’ tax, which would see online gambling operators targeted to pay a tax duty whether or not they are physically operating in the UK.

The GBGA wants to show that the new tax regime is not possible under EU gambling laws that guarantee freedom to provide services and stop discrimination. The regulatory body is making recommendations that the case be tried before the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling.