Lenihan bows to lobbying on betting tax hike

PLANS to double the rate of betting tax announced in October’s budget have been scrapped after intense lobbying by bookies who held a number of formal meetings with Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.

At least €40 million in revenue will be lost to the state through the budget U-turn – this is more than four times what it would cost to administer the cervical cancer vaccine to teenage girls and would meet half the cost of medical cards for all over 70s.

But bookies warned the minister that the tax would lead to the closure of hundreds of bookmaking shops and the loss of up to 2,000 jobs this year.