GBGA tax challenge handed March hearing
Legal challenge to UK Treasury's implementation of a 15% Point of Consumption tax to be heard on 23-25 March
The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association’s (GBGA) legal bid to overturn the UK’s Point of Consumption (PoC) tax will be heard in March, eGaming Review has learned.
A judicial review of the Treasury’s decision to implement a 15% tax on UK-derived profits is scheduled to take place over three days at London’s Royal Courts of Justice on 23-25 March.
The GBGA was granted a review of the tax last month with a High Court document at the time stating the claim had raised “very significant” points and “equally important practical issues for the enforcement of revenue collection”.
The hearing had originally been pencilled in for a date in early January, however, this was later delayed due to court commitments.
Speaking to eGR this morning, a spokesperson for the GBGA confirmed the March hearing but declined to comment any further on the case.
Last month GBGA chief executive Peter Howitt was pragmatic when weighing-up the GBGA’s chances of overturning a tax which has been in place since 1 December.
“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.
The Treasury said it intends to “robustly defend” its decision to implement a levy which it said will “level the playing field” by providing “a fairer tax system for all gambling operators”.
The GBGA will field a legal similar team to the one which was defeated in its attempt to prevent the implementation of a PoC licensing regime, with law firm Olswang and barristers Blackstone Chambers set to represent the industry body.