GBGA PoC court battle starts today
Legal challenge to UK Treasury's implementation of a 15% Point of Consumption tax gets underway this morning
The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association’s (GBGA) legal bid to overturn the UK’s Point of Consumption (PoC) tax continues this morning as a three-day judicial review gets underway in London.
The hearing, which is taking place at the Royal Courts of Justice, is expected to see the GBGA argue the tax to be discriminatory, in breach of Article 56 of European law and a restriction of movement between European Member States.
The UK Treasury, which introduced the 15% levy on 1 December, said it would “robustly defend” a tax which it is estimated will cost the industry approximately £300m per annum.
“We are confident the reforms are lawful, proportionate and non-discriminatory,” a Treasury spokesperson said.
The review will be heard by Mr Justice Charles with the GBGA represented by the same team that was last year defeated in its attempts to overthrow the PoC licensing regime; law firm Olswang and barristers Blackstone Chambers.
The GBGA said the tax challenge was the best way to protect consumers, with increased taxation likely to lead to costs passed down to the consumer which may prompt customers to seek out better value through unregulated and untaxed operators.
The judicial review was granted by the courts in December and a High Court document, seen by eGaming Review, stated that the GBGA’s claim raised “very significant” points and “equally important practical issues for the enforcement of revenue collection”.
However, in December GBGA chief executive Peter Howitt was pragmatic about the industry body’s chances of overturning a tax which has already been in place for almost four months.
“The litigation has a lot of elements that make success politically difficult but the Association believes there are some key issues that need to be addressed,” Howitt told eGR.