Fruit Machine Chat

New pubs minister John Healey has hinted the government may hold back on changing the tax regime on skills with prizes (SWP) machines, which could cost the industry £85m.

Under government plans, SWP machines - which includes games like 'Cluedo' and 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' - could be reclassified as gambling machines, making them liable for gaming machine tax.

HMRC also plans to make the tax retrospective, which the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) says could hit the industry with a bill of £85m.

But during a visit to a South Yorkshire pub on Friday, Healey suggested the government may re-examine this plan.


Healey told the BBPA’s Lee Le Clercq the government was “looking again, very hard” at the reclassification of SWP machines.

But while at the Queen’s Hotel in Rawmarsh, the minister appeared to rule out any hope of beer duty being frozen or cut.

Le Clercq said: “Regrettably, he defended recent excise duty hikes as a necessary measure to fund other government spending.

“With the public sector deficit not looking to improve any time soon, we might be in for more of the same.”

Dave

Le Clercq

Allo, allo!

Thanks for the update Dave, let's hope that re-examining actually involves change...!

I have heard this kind of promise before from Politicians namely Winston Churchil JR who promised that my colliery would not close and that his government would not get his vote to close it, but what did he go and do
BASTARD. Was fun though when we chased him down the street outside Westminster to explain himself.