Canberra's poker machine operators have reacted angrily to the suggestion in the Quinlan review that they should pay more tax.
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The review panel found that the ''untaxed economic rent'' produced by the clubs gaming industry was about $37 million, although Mr Quinlan distanced himself from the recommendations yesterday, saying they were ''too much''.
The panel also called for reform of the system of community contributions, or ''good cause'' payments made by the machine operators.
Mr Quinlan also published a dissenting recommendation that the Canberra Casino be allowed to operate pokies, a proposal flatly rejected by Treasurer Andrew Barr yesterday.
The panel wrote that the ''untaxed economic rent'' raised by pokies clubs each year in the territory was more than $37 million after the sector had paid tax and community contributions of $113 million on gross gambling revenues of about $172 million, leaving a ''reasonable return'' of $21 million.
But Mr Quinlan said that he did not agree with the hard line taken on pokies by his fellow panelists ACT Under-Treasurer Megan Smithies and Professor Alan Duncan from the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling. ''That's too much,'' Mr Quinlan said.
''That's saying to the clubs industry: 'whatever you can generate, we'll take', and clubs mean an awful lot to a lot of people in this town.''
Clubs ACT chief executive Jeff House, a former chief of staff to Mr Quinlan, was also unhappy with the report's findings, accusing its authors of ignoring hard facts.
''This review has largely ignored the hard facts which show the principal source of revenue for clubs has been in free fall since the introduction of smoking bans in 2006,'' Mr House said. ''These bans came on top of an increase to gaming tax imposed on clubs two years prior.
''Clearly there was a significant divergence of opinion within the panel on the issue of gaming tax and it is unfortunate that it appears our constructive suggestions were largely ignored.
''In raising untaxed economic rent issues, the review seems to have regarded clubs as no different to any other corporate entity. However, clubs are community-based organisations and were established under a particular tax regime and that should not change.''
Mr Barr said he noted the panel's comments but that he had no plans to approach gaming-tax reform while a trial of mandatory pre-commitment technology was underway.
''We are concerned in the context of the national mandatory pre-commitment debate and the trial that is proposed for the ACT, that we could potentially be interfering in that process were we to be changing gambling tax rates during that trial,'' he said.
''However this is an issue that we will return to at the conclusion of the trial.''
Mr Quinlan said he was disappointed that he had not been invited to yesterday's media lock-up and press conference when Treasury officials, including Ms Smithies were present to give briefings.
''I'm not saying that everyone didn't do a good job, but Treasury have a view, they have an approach and they can be conservative and a little bit protective of government so maybe I could have been there, that's all,'' Mr Quinlan said.
''I don't want any of that to take away from the main things in the report.''The review had predictably called for the club industry to pay more tax, despite gaming revenue falling by 22 per cent over the past seven years.