UK Online Gambling Firms to Pay 15% Tax by December 2014

When the UK’s 2012 budget was announced we were made aware that the government was planning to bring in offshore gaming companies under the UK tax system. Currently, if a gaming company is registered offshore, such as Gibraltar, they only have to pay 1% of the profits they make from any UK based customers. This is also capped at £425,000 meaning that the most tax they would ever have to pay to the UK government in a year would be £425,000, no matter how much profit they make.

The government have now announced that they will be adding a new rule to the March 2014 Budget that will require online gaming companies to pay 15% tax on the profits they make from UK players. They will therefore, be taxed on where there players are based, rather than where in the world their companies are registered. The new rule is rumoured to be put into place by December 2014.

If this new Tax law does get put into place, then it is thought that it will raise an additional £300 million for the government.

Let us know what you think of this new tax rule? Do you think it will actually be put into place by the government?