British Bingo Association Calls For £10 Million Tax Rebate

Britain’s Bingo Association is poised to demand a £10 million tax-rebate from Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to balance the effect of the smoking ban in Scotland.

Sir Peter Fry, the organization’s chairman, plans to meet politicians and media to start the campaign, which is asking the chancellor to pay back £10 million in Value Added Tax to ‘compensate for a 20 per cent drop in revenue’ caused by the ban. The association went on to call the present situation in Scotland ‘frustrating’, due to the country having the independence to initiate a ban, but not to allow the tax breaks.

“The ban has had a far greater impact on the industry than had been anticipated,” according to a Bingo Association spokesperson. “This situation has been created by government legislation rather than market forces.”

The Bingo Association is also planning on bringing the campaign to England and Wales when the smoking ban is introduced next year, and ask for an estimated £100 million of VAT.