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Phil Gould | March 23, 2008
NSW Labor could well be remembered as the government that presided over the demise of rugby league as we know it in this state. The money-grabbing and unreasonable poker machine taxes imposed on clubs are starting to detrimentally affect the club industry - as predicted by anyone with half a brain when these poorly constructed taxes were first mentioned.
All NSW clubs rely heavily on poker machine profits to maintain employment and community-based projects, and these services have been hit hard by these taxes. For the major rugby league clubs, who pay the bulk of these exorbitant imposts, these taxes are a burden they cannot afford. Leagues club grants to NRL programs and junior associations have been hit hard, with even more cuts on the way.
The professional game is not just responsible for entertainment. It employs thousands of people and there are even more people working in other businesses who deal directly with rugby league as a buyer of their goods and services. These people are also about to feel the flow-on effect of these trade-restricting taxes.
The professional league is also responsible for making enough income to keep all the other levels of the game alive in this country. The thousands of volunteers who work tirelessly in country and junior rugby league areas are about to be faced with even less funding than the meagre handouts they already receive.
It is my understanding that these major rugby league clubs are facing a financial crisis unless something is done to ease the pressure. Already the grants to many programs are being cut significantly at a time our game requires more funding to develop and compete with other codes.
Our game is already hamstrung, it doesn't maximise its return from broadcasting and media rights because it is owned by a media company. Sponsorship dollars are even harder to come by with such fierce competition from rival codes and new forms of media. While we were promised years ago that pay TV would end the need for funding from clubs and poker machine income, the truth remains that licensed clubs are still the major and vital source of revenue for most rugby league teams in this state. This makes it all the more disappointing that the current NRL bosses did little to support the NSW club industry when it was campaigning against the implementation of these taxes several years ago.
With a cashed-up AFL pushing their message into heartland areas, rugby league is becoming powerless to compete, and it appears neither the State Government nor the NRL owners is acting with any urgency to tackle this problem.
I understand that the major leagues clubs in NSW are facing massive profit reductions as a result of the State Government's latest blood-sucking exercise. In a desperate bid to raise funds after years of poor decision-making, it tapped into the lifeblood of the hospitality industry and drained it for every cent it could.
Those responsible for formulating these taxes showed their ignorance of the industry by imposing this tax on the gross profits earned from poker machine receipts, rather than the more commonsense approach of taxing the total net operating profit of the club itself. This represents a significant difference, as any first-year accountancy student would tell you.
When it was pointed out that poker-machine profit was not the same as club profit and that wages, expenses, costs, maintenance, club improvements and the cost of their community and charity-based projects had to be deducted from poker-machine revenue before any profit should be taxed, the Government went pale. It could see the error in its calculations but already had the money spent, so pushed on regardless.
It justified its stance by pointing to investigations and allegations surrounding two of our major leagues clubs that funds were being misused. Its attitude was that the clubs were mismanaging all this money, so the Government should take it and mismanage it its own way!
It's amazing to think that the NSW clubs have been so targeted by the Government's money-grabbing exercise when the privately owned hotels have escaped scrutiny. While the club industry supports the community with significant funding, the poker machine profits enjoyed by the individual hotel operators are being spent on cars, penthouses and lavish holidays. It makes no sense. Or maybe the hotel industry shows its gratitude to the Government in less visible ways.
The ban on smokers in clubs and the poker machine taxes have had a dramatic effect on club profits. The club industry provides so much for our communities but these impositions are significantly restricting its ability to service members' needs.
Community-based programs and charities have already been hard hit. In time, the clubs will not be able to meet the demands of the millions who rely on the hospitality industry for employment, trade or simply as an important part of their social and family lives. For league fans, our game faces severe financial shortages that will only become more serious over the coming seasons. The NRL is not budgeting for any significant increase in revenue for at least the next five years. Brilliant management right there!
The large leagues clubs are facing huge reductions in profit levels and in some cases even increased losses. Several clubs are about to post negative results for the last financial year. All this when the game faces its greatest challenges and with more youngsters looking at professional sport as a potential career path.
This is not to mention the difficulty our hard-working volunteers in the field face with decreasing financial support coming from local clubs. Something needs to be done.
Fairly typical Goose article. Bleat, bleat, bleat, from someone's else's song-sheet and provide no solutions. The points he makes are worth of discussion but they are someone else's points.
Phil Gould | March 23, 2008
NSW Labor could well be remembered as the government that presided over the demise of rugby league as we know it in this state. The money-grabbing and unreasonable poker machine taxes imposed on clubs are starting to detrimentally affect the club industry - as predicted by anyone with half a brain when these poorly constructed taxes were first mentioned.
All NSW clubs rely heavily on poker machine profits to maintain employment and community-based projects, and these services have been hit hard by these taxes. For the major rugby league clubs, who pay the bulk of these exorbitant imposts, these taxes are a burden they cannot afford. Leagues club grants to NRL programs and junior associations have been hit hard, with even more cuts on the way.
The professional game is not just responsible for entertainment. It employs thousands of people and there are even more people working in other businesses who deal directly with rugby league as a buyer of their goods and services. These people are also about to feel the flow-on effect of these trade-restricting taxes.
The professional league is also responsible for making enough income to keep all the other levels of the game alive in this country. The thousands of volunteers who work tirelessly in country and junior rugby league areas are about to be faced with even less funding than the meagre handouts they already receive.
It is my understanding that these major rugby league clubs are facing a financial crisis unless something is done to ease the pressure. Already the grants to many programs are being cut significantly at a time our game requires more funding to develop and compete with other codes.
Our game is already hamstrung, it doesn't maximise its return from broadcasting and media rights because it is owned by a media company. Sponsorship dollars are even harder to come by with such fierce competition from rival codes and new forms of media. While we were promised years ago that pay TV would end the need for funding from clubs and poker machine income, the truth remains that licensed clubs are still the major and vital source of revenue for most rugby league teams in this state. This makes it all the more disappointing that the current NRL bosses did little to support the NSW club industry when it was campaigning against the implementation of these taxes several years ago.
With a cashed-up AFL pushing their message into heartland areas, rugby league is becoming powerless to compete, and it appears neither the State Government nor the NRL owners is acting with any urgency to tackle this problem.
I understand that the major leagues clubs in NSW are facing massive profit reductions as a result of the State Government's latest blood-sucking exercise. In a desperate bid to raise funds after years of poor decision-making, it tapped into the lifeblood of the hospitality industry and drained it for every cent it could.
Those responsible for formulating these taxes showed their ignorance of the industry by imposing this tax on the gross profits earned from poker machine receipts, rather than the more commonsense approach of taxing the total net operating profit of the club itself. This represents a significant difference, as any first-year accountancy student would tell you.
When it was pointed out that poker-machine profit was not the same as club profit and that wages, expenses, costs, maintenance, club improvements and the cost of their community and charity-based projects had to be deducted from poker-machine revenue before any profit should be taxed, the Government went pale. It could see the error in its calculations but already had the money spent, so pushed on regardless.
It justified its stance by pointing to investigations and allegations surrounding two of our major leagues clubs that funds were being misused. Its attitude was that the clubs were mismanaging all this money, so the Government should take it and mismanage it its own way!
It's amazing to think that the NSW clubs have been so targeted by the Government's money-grabbing exercise when the privately owned hotels have escaped scrutiny. While the club industry supports the community with significant funding, the poker machine profits enjoyed by the individual hotel operators are being spent on cars, penthouses and lavish holidays. It makes no sense. Or maybe the hotel industry shows its gratitude to the Government in less visible ways.
The ban on smokers in clubs and the poker machine taxes have had a dramatic effect on club profits. The club industry provides so much for our communities but these impositions are significantly restricting its ability to service members' needs.
Community-based programs and charities have already been hard hit. In time, the clubs will not be able to meet the demands of the millions who rely on the hospitality industry for employment, trade or simply as an important part of their social and family lives. For league fans, our game faces severe financial shortages that will only become more serious over the coming seasons. The NRL is not budgeting for any significant increase in revenue for at least the next five years. Brilliant management right there!
The large leagues clubs are facing huge reductions in profit levels and in some cases even increased losses. Several clubs are about to post negative results for the last financial year. All this when the game faces its greatest challenges and with more youngsters looking at professional sport as a potential career path.
This is not to mention the difficulty our hard-working volunteers in the field face with decreasing financial support coming from local clubs. Something needs to be done.
Fairly typical Goose article. Bleat, bleat, bleat, from someone's else's song-sheet and provide no solutions. The points he makes are worth of discussion but they are someone else's points.
