REVENUE FROM RACING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19608, 9 April 1927, Page 14

REVENUE FROM RACING.

TOTALISATOR TAKINGS. A LESSON FROM NEW ZEALAND r DISCUSSION IN ENGLAND. EFFICIENT TAX COLLECTOR. our own correspondent.] LONDON. Feb. 25. An article on the totalisator appearing in the New Zealand Supplement of the Times is the basis for some illuminating comparisons by the racing •■nrrespondent of that papei. It is stated in the article that before the introduction of the totalisator to New Zealand racecourses " bookmakers provided the only means of speculation and contributed nothing to the revenues of the race clubs. Attempts to control them failed almost without exception. The totalisator quickly lessened the clubs anxiety concerning finance and finally removed it altogether. The amount invested on the machine last year was £8,*445,859. Of this, some £7,183,135 was paid in dividends, £622,479 was absorbed by State taxation, and £671,483 was retained by tha clubs. " It will be seen that the money deducted from the total investments made with the totalisator," says the correspondent, " is just over 14 per cent., of which amount, roughly half goes back to racing and half goes to the Government. The total population of New Zealand is less than 1,500,000 and this -population pays just over £1,000,00 to assist their racing and the Government out of their betting. Interesting Figures. *' The population of England and Wales is about 40,000,000, and from these figures it is. reasonable to assume that they should be able to assist racing and the Government's finance to the extent 6f £26,000,000. Yet at the present time the betting duty is not producing any appreciable sum of money at ail in this country. As the article in question points out, attempts to make any money out of taxing bookmakers failed almost without exception." The writer continues: "1 cannot imagine a better argument in favour of the totalisator. I admit at once that it would not produce £26,000,000, which on the New Zealand figures it should do, but even if it produced only a third of that amount the advantage to owners and breeders would be enormous Incidentally the New Zealand figures are very interesting Before the betting duty came into operation some bookmakers of standing presented to the Chancellor of the Exchequer certain figures, which showed that if the tax on betting were two per cent, on the racecourse and 3£ per cent, away from tha racecourse, the total received would b«_ £6,000,000. That amount indicates that it was estimated that the betting turnover in the year in this country was £200,000,00, or somewhere near £6 a head, which, from the figures in the article which 1 have quoted, is almost exactly the same as the amount per head in New Zealand. It is obvious, therefore, that if the totalisator were introduced into this country a very large sura of money would at once become available for the Government, for stakes, for owners, and, if necessary, to subsidise breeders." Lady Astor's Confession.

Lady Astor, one of the Conservative members of Parliament for Plymouth, created a surprise in the House of Commons.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer had answered some questions with regard to the effect of the bets tax when Lady Astor, whose husband is one of the principal racehorse owners in the country, interposed with the remark: "The next time the right hon. gentleman brings iu a bill like this will he take the advice of some of us who know?"

Mr. Churchill, as surprised as the remainder of the House, could only reply: " I was not prepared to receive such a. confession." Apparently he was under the impression that Lady "4stor, who is an ardent temperance advocate as well as an enthusiastic social reformer in other directions, would have looked upon betting as a thing to be left severely alone.