UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Chancellor Rachel Reeves signals a possible gambling tax rise in the autumn budget, responding to calls from Gordon Brown to fund child poverty measures.
As reported by The Standard, Rachel Reeves has not ruled out increasing gambling taxes after former Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the government to fund the removal of the two-child benefit cap.
What did Rachel Reeves say about Gordon Brown’s gambling tax proposal?
Amid growing calls for reform, Rachel Reeves said she was “deeply concerned” about rising addiction as ministers responded to Mr Brown’s proposal to increase gambling duties.
When questioned about Mr Brown’s suggestion, the Chancellor said she had discussed the matter with him last week and would announce the Government’s position in the autumn budget.
Ms Reeves said,
“So I talk to Gordon regularly, and saw him last week when I was in Scotland. Like Gordon, I am deeply concerned about the levels of child poverty in Britain. No child should grow up hungry, nor should parents not be able to afford the basics for their family.”
She stated,
“We’re a Labour Government. Of course, we care about child poverty. That’s why one of the first things we did as a government was to set up a child poverty task force that will be reporting in the autumn and will respond to it then.”
Ms Reeves added,
“On gambling taxes, we’ve already launched a review into gambling taxes. We’re taking evidence on that at the moment, and again, we’ll set out our policies in the normal way, in our budget later this year.”
What did the IPPR say about solving child poverty?
The IPPR has indicated that changes to gambling levies could raise £3.2 billion, helping fund the scrapping of the two-child limit and benefit cap.
New research by the IPPR said removing the two-child limit could lift 500,000 children out of poverty and ease “years of rising hardship” for low-income families.
The IPPR has recommended raising the tax on online casinos from 21% to 50%, and increasing the rate on slot machines and gaming terminals from 20% to 50%.
Referring to the think tank’s report, Mr Brown added,
“Thanks to IPPR’s report, we now know that taxing gambling more fairly would fully fund the first crucial step in the war we must wage against child poverty – ending the two-child limit and lifting the benefit cap.”
What did Steve Rotheram say about child poverty?
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said tackling child poverty must be a “national mission,” adding pressure on the Chancellor during his remarks.
He added,
“Gordon is spot on. The Government has a real opportunity to act now and transform young lives across the country.”
What did the Betting and Gaming Council say about the tax plan?
A spokesperson for the Betting and Gaming Council rejected the proposals as “economically reckless, factually misleading,” warning,
“risk driving huge numbers to the growing, unsafe, unregulated gambling black market, which doesn’t protect consumers and contributes zero tax.”
They added,
“Further tax rises, fresh off the back of Government reforms which cost the sector over a billion in lost revenue, would do more harm than good, for punters, jobs, growth and public finances.”
What did Rachel Reeves say about the interest rate cut?
Rachel Reeves said,
“The stability we have brought to the public finances through our Plan for Change has helped make this possible and helped us become the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first quarter of this year.”
She added,
“We’re locking in this growth in the long run by investing over £113 billion in infrastructure, securing three major trade deals and embracing the technologies of the future – to drive up wages and improve living standards across the UK.”
What did Gordon Brown say about poverty in Britain?
The former prime minister urged the Government to act and issued a warning over the state of Britain after 14 years of austerity.
He said,
“Look, we’re dealing with a divided Britain. We’re dealing with a social crisis. This problem is getting worse. It’s going to worsen over the next few years, because there’s a built-in escalator in the poverty figures, because of the two-child rule.”
Mr Brown stated,
“I live in the constituency in which I grew up. I still live here. I see every day this situation getting worse, and I did not think I would see the kind of poverty I saw when I was growing up, when we had slum housing, when we had travelling people coming to my school.”
He added,
“This is a return to the kind of poverty of 60 years ago, and I think we’ve got to act now, and that’s why we must take action in this budget.”