The Community Benefit Statements allow pokies venues to receive a taxbreak on their gambling revenue. Venues are required to show that atleast 8.5 percent of their gaming machine revenue is spent on approvedcommunity purposes or activities.
To claim an expense on a Community Benefit Statement, it must have beenpaid from gaming machine revenue, not general revenue. The CommunityBenefit Statement of the North Ballarat Football Club shows a $10,000'Council oval maintenance levy' and $21,281 of 'Water and Council Rates'came from pokies revenue. *
“Pokies and problem gambling do enormous harm to the community”, saidJon Stanger. “Council should not be benefiting from pokies revenue.”
“We are talking about standard operating expenses with no communitybenefit,” said Jon Stanger. “While it is the State Government thatallows venues to make a mockery of Community Benefit Statements, Councilshould be deeply concerned about this.”
“Council should make a clear stand and insist that pokies venues do notpay rates or levies out of pokies revenue and claim them as a communitybenefit.”
For more information and comment, please contact:Jon Stanger on 0415 755 181
Background:
Source: Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulationhttp://www.vcgr.vic.gov.au