Irish Eyes are Watering

Betting tax to be doubled

From the CAP Newswire:

October 17, 2008 (InfoPowa News) — Irish eyes will probably not be smiling following the news that the government plans to double the country’s tax on betting. Finance Minister Brian Cowan announced the move to legislators in a budget speech in Dublin this week, saying that the tax will increase from 1 percent to 2 percent.

Industry analyst Gavin Kelleher said that an increase of that size would raise Irish bookmaker Paddy Power plc’s betting duty bill to about €20 million, leading to a significant impact on profitability.