Cutting the tax rate on casino poker machines would be "inappropriate", Labor Treasury spokesman David O'Byrne says.
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In a signal that Labor could knock back gaming and hospitality giant Federal Group's request for the 35 per cent pokies tax rate to be slashed, Mr O'Byrne told ABC Radio on Wednesday that a "fair" arrangement was needed.
"We think Tasmanians would want a fair return on those kinds of licences and, if elected, we would seek advice from Treasury and consult with the community generally on the most appropriate tax rates," he said.
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"We don't accept that cutting tax rates is appropriate in terms of this area. We actually think Tasmanians would demand a fair tax rate.
"With all of the tax rates across the portfolio of finance, you want to make sure that you get the balance right."
Premier Peter Gutwein has not stated what the Liberals' precise intentions are in regards to the pokies tax rate.
When the party unveiled its gaming policy before the 2018 election, it merely said the new tax rate would be "benchmarked" against interstate jurisdictions.
Labor took a policy to that election to remove pokies from pubs and clubs and confine them to casinos but has since walked away from it.
The monopoly deed, which allows the Federal Group to be the sole licenced operator of pokies in Tasmania, expires in 2023. The company has proposed that the new deed cut the tax rate on the machines to bring Tasmania into line with other regional areas, such as Townsville and Cairns (20 per cent of revenue) or Darwin (15 per cent).
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