HMRC Withdraws Bingo VAT Appeal
Sunday, 18 December 2011 | Written by Tami Bayliss
I don’t know about you, but a lot of my friends and family are currently celebrating the fact that they have been given tax returns.Well, they’re not the only ones!Even online bingo sites have been given reason to celebrate!
You may not already know this, but behind your fave online bingo sites lay bigger companies to operate them.Rank Group, the operator behind Mecca Bingo – one of the top UK bingo sites online right now – had made a claim to HM Revenue and Customs because they believed that they had been grossly over paying their VAT.After years of legal battles between Rank Group and HMRC stemming back to 2008, the European Court of Justice ruled that HMRC DID overcharge the Rank Group by an absolutely jaw-dropping £130 million in VAT in 2008 and between then and now, HMRC owed the giant UK bingo firm a VAT refund of £253.4 million including interest!Wow!
Though HMRC strongly deny claims and state that the judgement of the European Union Court of Justice was “in no means a final judgement of the existing issue of UK gaming machines and VAT tax”, many believe that the fact that this announcement was made by the prestigious EUCJ - which heavily favoured Rank Group - may well have led to the HMRC’S withdrawal of the VAT appeal, and a statement was issued from HMRC shortly afterwards stating:
"In view of the European Union Court of Justice, HMRC accepts that the issue is now resolved in respect of bingo and our appeal in respect of this will be withdrawn."
Rank Group must be relieved – they are the firm behind some of the best known online gaming sites in Britain like Mecca, Grosvenor Casinos and Grosvenor Poker and due to this withdrawal they are set to stay at the top of their game for many years to come!
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