LATE July is one of the most exciting times in our horse racing calendar.
And next week we will celebrate one of the sport’s most iconic meetings — Glorious Goodwood.
GettyLate July is one of the most exciting times in our horse racing calendar[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationLike Royal Ascot before it, Glorious Goodwood is more than just five days of brilliant racing[/caption]
Few events capture the sport’s history and tradition, its excitement and buzz, more than this glorious spectacle of racing on the South Downs.
Thousands will go to the racecourse and millions more will watch it on TV — not just here at home but around the world.
Like Royal Ascot before it, Glorious Goodwood is more than just five days of brilliant racing.
It is a mix of world-leading sport, fashion and society and a vital soft power lever — as demonstrated by those attending from governments around the world — promoting the best of Britain on a global stage.
Tearing the heart out
As the MP for West Suffolk, and with Newmarket at the heart of my constituency, I know how these meetings, along with all the others which take place at the country’s 59 racecourses throughout the year, showcase racing’s vital role in Britain’s economy, communities, culture and international reputation.
But racing today faces the most serious threat to its future in generations, and if the Government has its way, we risk losing the likes of Glorious Goodwood forever.
The Government is currently considering hammering British racing with a tax bombshell.
It wants to bring the rate of tax on online horse race betting level with the rate placed on online games of chance — despite there being a huge difference between the two products.
Yesterday, the Government closed its 12-week consultation period during which it sought the views of the sport and other interested parties over its so-called harmonisation plan.
Racing’s governing body, the British Horseracing Authority, led the sport’s response in robustly opposing this unwelcome tax smash-and-grab, and hundreds more have made clear their objections to the Treasury officials who came up with this daft proposal.
And as they start wading through the responses which spell out in no uncertain terms the damage their reckless tax proposal could cause to racing, they should understand the strength of feeling shared by millions of people across Britain.
According to the Treasury, its proposed Remote Betting and Gaming Duty is designed to simplify betting taxes.
But in doing so, it would scrap the special treatment for betting on British racing that successive governments have recognised is needed due to the jobs it creates and its contribution to the economy.
Betting on racing is currently taxed at 15 per cent while online slots are taxed at 21 per cent.
The Treasury wants to harmonise those rates which means, more than likely, a tax raid on the sport.
Racing is part of who we are. It is an essential part of our national sporting story. It is vital that the Government recognises that
As many Sun readers who like to bet on the horses after studying the form will know, it is a different type of betting compared to online slot machines.
And the current tax regime is designed to reflect both the higher costs borne by the sport — compared with online gaming — and racing’s significant economic and social contribution to our country.
In purely financial terms, harmonising the duty rates at even 21 per cent will hit racing’s finances by £66million. Any higher and thousands of jobs will be lost across Britain.
In a worst-case scenario, racecourses may be forced to close, tearing the heart out of their communities.
Racing is part of who we are. It is an essential part of our national sporting story. It is vital that the Government recognises that.
Without an exemption for horse racing from the harmonisation plans, Britain’s second-largest spectator sport and a cherished part of the social fabric of our communities will suffer great harm.
The Government, and the Treasury in particular, should take note and axe the racing tax
That harm will be both economic and social.
Let’s start with the economics.
Racing employs 85,000 people nationwide and adds over £4billion a year to our national income.
Millions of pounds of international investment are drawn in from key trading markets by the world-leading standards of care, science and animal welfare found at British stud farms and training yards.
Those in the local supply chain around those farms and yards and our racecourses will see their businesses affected if racing takes a financial hit.
Just as important as the boost racing provides to the local and national economy is the way it knits itself into the social fabric of our communities.
It helps to make up the identity and sense of place in racing towns. It brings together people from all backgrounds, unites families across generations, and is a way of life for communities around racecourses.
Hammer blows
And you, the voters, agree. A majority of Britons (68 per cent of Conservatives, 63 per cent of Reform voters, and 61 per cent of Labour voters) say horse racing is an important part of British culture, while two-thirds see racing as an important part of the identity of towns like Newmarket, Doncaster and Cheltenham.
This damaging tax hike would be the third leg of a “triple whammy” of challenges that represent an existential threat to the sport.
Alongside the Government’s failure to review the Horserace Betting Levy which funds the sport, and intrusive affordability checks placed on everyday punters, these financial hammer blows could tip racing into terminal decline.
As they analyse the responses to their consultation, ministers and officials should understand just how many people’s lives they will hurt by imposing a swingeing tax rise.
It is millions of people in every corner of the country who enjoy attending race meetings and having a flutter on the horses.
It is the people whose businesses and jobs depend on racing. It is the people whose civic pride derives from the local racecourse or their area’s reputation as a centre of excellence for the rearing and welfare of horses.
The Government, and the Treasury in particular, should take note and axe the racing tax.
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