Chancellor’s ‘indefensible position’ on tax hammered by Carlton chief

CARLTON Bingo saw a sharp fall in profits last year, as severe winter weather in 2011 kept punters away, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

The bingo hall company used the publication of its annual report for the year to 25 December, 2011, to lash out at the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s “indefensible position” on gambling taxation, accusing the UK government of hitting the industry with stealth taxes after introducing a machine gaming duty that will come into force in 2013.

Peter Perrins, managing director, said previous “tinkering” such as the introduction of the smoking ban and the Gambling Act had reduced staff numbers at the firm by more than 20 per cent.

“The government must realise when new taxes are introduced they inevitably lead to a loss of employment, which trickles through to loss of revenue to the Treasury,” he said in his operations review.

The Inverness-based owner of 14 bingo clubs in Scotland and the north of England, saw employee numbers fall from 375 to 366 in the year.

Perrins said he welcomed the government’s reduction on corporation tax, which is being cut to 23 per cent by 2014.

However, he added: “It will be interesting to see whether the Holyrood government are able to secure a transfer of tax-raising powers from Westminster and particularly in relation to corporate taxation.”

Carlton Bingo saw its profits slashed from £6.8m to £1.2m in the year.

Turnover decreased “fractionally” to £15.6m, but George Carter, the company’s finance director, said this was due to higher taxes, and that punter spending had increased for the first time since the smoking ban took effect.