I move:
(1) That the duty on bets imposed by section 24 of the Finance Act, 1926 (No. 35 of 1926), shall (subject and without prejudice to the provisions of section 20 of the Finance Act, 1931 (No. 31 of 1931) be charged, levied and paid on bets entered into on or after the 20th day of January, 1975, at the rate of 20 per cent of the amount of the bet in lieu of the rate of 15 per cent mentioned in section 40 of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972 (No. 22 of 1972).
(2) It is hereby declared that it is expendient in the public interest that this Resolution shall have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1927 (No. 7 of 1927).
The effect of the resolution is to increase the rate of betting duty from 15 per cent chargeable under section 40 of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972, to 20 per cent with effect from 20th January next. As the majority of bookmakers pay duty on the basis of weekly returns the increased rate is being made effective from the first Monday after the budget. It is estimated, as was stated in the budget speech, that the increase in the yield of betting duty will amount to £1.3 million in a full year and approximately the same figure this year.
For the information of the House the net receipts from betting duty during the last five years was as follows: 1970, £1,936,000; 1971, £2,003,000; 1972, £2,365,000 and 1973, £3,883,000. The provisional estimate for last year is £4,763,000.