3 minute read
Racing Victoria is confident a planned review of the Point Of Consumption tax regime in Victoria will help enable the state to compete with NSW in the face of major spring prizemoney increases.
On Monday, Racing NSW announced a range of new cashed-up spring races designed to clash with traditional events in Victoria, with much of that new available money suspected to be coming out of a different POC tax regime to that in Victoria.
Chairman Brian Kruger told RSN927 on Tuesday morning that RV did not believe the extra money available for prizemoney in NSW had to do with new bet types as had been put forward, but rather with the amount of money the NSW racing industry receives from the state government through the POC tax.
"They've talked about new bet types - I am not convinced," Kruger said. "We've done a lot of work around that and there is nothing exclusive that they have around potential new bet types and the amount of money it might raise.
"We don't think there's that much money coming from that area.
"The way the NSW Government have implemented the Point Of Consumption tax, there is a lot more of that tax which is being passed back to the racing industry that what we've seen with the initial set up of the Point Of Consumption tax here in Victoria."
Kruger said the second factor that allows NSW to throw so much money at spring races had to do with a tax on fixed-rate betting with the TAB.
"In Victoria, it's (tax) around four per cent and in NSW it's around 11 per cent," Kruger said.
"What's happening progressively with the collection of the higher taxes in NSW, is they are being passed directly back to the racing industry.
"In Victoria, we don't get that.
"In the short term, NSW has got a big funding advantage versus Victoria because of those two factors.
"The issue is with fixed-odds betting and they are getting a big leg up. It's in the many tens of millions of dollars per annum."
Kruger said, however, that he was confident the Victorian Government will assist RV in the prizemoney war in both the areas of the POC tax and the levy on fixed-odds betting.
"Our state government has been extremely supportive. We are talking to them about these issues and will work with them," he said.
"They have committed to us that they want to keep Victoria as the pre-eminent racing state and that gives us a lot of confidence.
"If the current financing arrangements stay in place, it will be a huge challenge."
Kruger said the NSW announcement had been expected.
"I'd say we weren't surprised," he said. "Racing NSW has been talking about their desire to move deeper into the spring for a number of months.
"I understand why they are doing what they are doing. We have got a fantastic Spring Carnival in Melbourne.
"It's recognised as one of the great racing carnivals in the world so I am not surprised they are trying to get a piece of the action."
Kruger said the real possibility of two major carnivals running against each other and potentially diluting the end product would have consequences for thoroughbred racing in this country.
"My biggest concern with what they are doing in terms of encroaching into the spring is the potential that we don't see the best horses and the best jockeys competing against each other," he said.
"I think most of our fans look forward to it during the spring.
"There's no doubt there will be some impact on the issue of best racing against the best and I think that's a real concern not just for Victorian racing but for Australian racing."
Already, one of the country's emerging stars, Arcadia Queen, has been confirmed as a starter in Sydney's $14m The Everest and the $7.5m Golden Eagle in spring instead of being set on a Cox Plate path as she would have in the past.
Kruger said such defections were understandable given the weight of money on offer but warned there would be consequences.
"I think the Cox Plate will still be an amazing race," he said. "It has been for 100 years and I am very confident.
"Assuming she comes back, she (Arcadia Queen) would have been a great addition to the race but you understand commercial decisions that people make.
"It's one of the fallouts here. What does that mean for our Group 1 racing if it's not at the highest level? Does it put that in jeopardy in the long term?"
