The recent news about the hike in bingo tax has not only been opposed by online bingo players and developers, but is now being opposed by Liberal MPs as well. The support against the recent tax levied on bingo began when John Hayes, Conservative MP promised to do all he could to convince the government of revoking it. Joining him now are two Liberal MPs, John Garret and Sandra Giley.
John Garret, who was selected from the Edinburgh West constituency, came out strongly to oppose the government from taxing bingo profits at 22 percent rather than the former 15 percent. In addition to urging the government to revert to the previous bingo tax structure, he also signed a Downing Street petition stating the case.
When asked about his decision to support bingo halls in their fight to reduce the new tax structure, Garret said that although the game is not a fashionable cause, bingo halls act as focal points in many communities. He added that the government could not use the bingo industry in order to raise revenue.
Sandra Giley, a Liberal MP also voiced her protests against the raised bingo tax. She recently launched a campaign on the internet to spread the word and gain more support for the cause. Her online campaign has received a lot of support and has already gathered signatures from more than 2,500 campaigners.
All these MPs are arguing the point that bingo is a social pastime for many communities in the UK. The number of bingo halls that have closed down due to the high taxes have not only resulted in killing the pastime but have also ended up in many job losses.
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