Vol. 426 No. 1
64 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Finance if betting at coursing meetings is exempt from tax; if this is the only form of gambling so exempt; if so, if he will rectify this omission; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Section 20 of the Finance Act, 1931, exempts from betting duty bets placed on-course on horse races or greyhound coursing or racing, in respect of contests taking place at the meeting. However, a levy is payable on bets placed on-course with bookmakers in respect of horse and greyhound racing. These levies are payable to the Racing Board and Bord na gCon, respectively, and both are currently fixed at 5 per cent of the stake.
In relation to coursing, Bord na gCon has made regulations under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, exempting bets placed at coursing meetings from the levy. The board is of the opinion that the imposition of the levy at such meetings would be impractical.
As for imposing a tax on coursing, the Deputy will appreciate that it would be difficult to justify such a tax in isolation; I consider it would also be necessary to impose any such tax on all other on-course bets with bookmakers. In this connection, I might add that, between 1980 and 1985, a stamp duty of 1.5 per cent was charged on on-course bets with bookmakers; however, this was abolished in 1985, (when the duty on off-course bets was reduced from 20 per cent to 10 per cent of the amount laid), as it was considered to be giving an incentive to evasion which would also have undermined the levy.
