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Sinking clubs plead for pokies tax lifeline
Parramatta Leagues . . . call to cut poker tax. Photo: Brendan Esposito
PARRAMATTA LEAGUES CLUB has had what it believes to be the biggest loss ever for a club in NSW, $7 million last year, as big clubs cry poor over poker machine tax increases, the anti-smoking laws and the global financial crisis.
Several leagues clubs say they will have to make cuts in their football departments unless things improve, and they are pleading with the State Government to reduce poker machine taxes. The chief executive of the National Rugby League, David Gallop, and club representatives asked for help from the Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal, two months ago. A working party with the clubs and the Government was then set up. But the Government is reluctant to provide tax relief.
The tax rate for big clubs that earn more than $20 million has reached a high of 39.09 per cent under the staggered tax policy. But this has coincided with a collapse in the world economy.
The poker machine tax debate could therefore become an issue at the next election, and the clubs lobby is likely to pressure the two main parties. The former Opposition leader Peter Debnam pledged at the last election to keep the rate capped at the 2005 figure of 32.79 per cent.
Mr Gallop said he had received a sympathetic audience from Mr Roozendaal, and the Government had to understand that the tax increases had hit clubs much harder than expected. "He acknowledged that a lot of leagues clubs are suffering," Mr Gallop said.
"It's potentially catastrophic and I don't think anyone quite realised the real impact of the anti-smoking legislation and the lifting of the poker machine tax would be quite so dramatic."
The chief executive of Parramatta Leagues Club, Denis Fitzgerald, said his club had had to make six people redundant at the football club, and the losses the club was incurring were putting at risk its NRL team. "If we don't improve our overall position we won't be able to spend up to our salary cap that would make it difficult for us to be competitive on the field."
St George Leagues Club has recorded a net loss of more than $1 million, and Penrith Panthers had a loss of $5.1 million, before an income-tax credit turned that into a profit of $1.5 million. The general manager of St George Leagues Club, Danny Robinson, said: "If the Government does not review the tax the clubs will not survive."
But a spokesman for Mr Roozendaal said there was no desire for further concessions. "The NSW Government introduced financial hardship provisions in June 2008 to assist clubs experiencing a decline in gaming revenue. Eligible clubs can stagger their quarterly gaming machine tax into three equal instalments, without any penalty interest."
Sinking clubs plead for pokies tax lifeline
- Andrew Clennell State Political Editor
- February 28, 2009
PARRAMATTA LEAGUES CLUB has had what it believes to be the biggest loss ever for a club in NSW, $7 million last year, as big clubs cry poor over poker machine tax increases, the anti-smoking laws and the global financial crisis.
Several leagues clubs say they will have to make cuts in their football departments unless things improve, and they are pleading with the State Government to reduce poker machine taxes. The chief executive of the National Rugby League, David Gallop, and club representatives asked for help from the Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal, two months ago. A working party with the clubs and the Government was then set up. But the Government is reluctant to provide tax relief.
The tax rate for big clubs that earn more than $20 million has reached a high of 39.09 per cent under the staggered tax policy. But this has coincided with a collapse in the world economy.
The poker machine tax debate could therefore become an issue at the next election, and the clubs lobby is likely to pressure the two main parties. The former Opposition leader Peter Debnam pledged at the last election to keep the rate capped at the 2005 figure of 32.79 per cent.
Mr Gallop said he had received a sympathetic audience from Mr Roozendaal, and the Government had to understand that the tax increases had hit clubs much harder than expected. "He acknowledged that a lot of leagues clubs are suffering," Mr Gallop said.
"It's potentially catastrophic and I don't think anyone quite realised the real impact of the anti-smoking legislation and the lifting of the poker machine tax would be quite so dramatic."
The chief executive of Parramatta Leagues Club, Denis Fitzgerald, said his club had had to make six people redundant at the football club, and the losses the club was incurring were putting at risk its NRL team. "If we don't improve our overall position we won't be able to spend up to our salary cap that would make it difficult for us to be competitive on the field."
St George Leagues Club has recorded a net loss of more than $1 million, and Penrith Panthers had a loss of $5.1 million, before an income-tax credit turned that into a profit of $1.5 million. The general manager of St George Leagues Club, Danny Robinson, said: "If the Government does not review the tax the clubs will not survive."
But a spokesman for Mr Roozendaal said there was no desire for further concessions. "The NSW Government introduced financial hardship provisions in June 2008 to assist clubs experiencing a decline in gaming revenue. Eligible clubs can stagger their quarterly gaming machine tax into three equal instalments, without any penalty interest."
