Online gambling tax tug-of-war brewing in Australia

The Australian federal government and state are now at loggerheads over the former’s plan to take a slice of the new online gambling tax.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the states are up in arms over the plan of Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison to take a cut from their 15 percent point-of-sale consumption tax. The state estimated that revenues collected from the new online gambling tax will be worth AUD130 million (US$101.14 million).

For now, the states are preparing for a showdown with Morrison during the national meeting of all treasurers at the Council on Federal Financial Relations. The meeting has been set two weeks from now.

The new point-of-sale consumption tax – in a nutshell – will see Victoria rake in AUD150 million (US$110.69 million) in tax grab from online gambling players each year. The new tax is expected to help the state “prop up its surplus,” according to the news outlet.