The South Australian Council of Social Services is calling for changes in the country’s online gambling tax laws to ensure that taxes are paid where the wagers are placed.
The welfare group believes operators that were licensed by the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island might have been avoiding paying the right taxes, 9news.com.au reported. This is because Australia’s online gambling laws tax companies only in the jurisdiction where they are licensed, not where the bets are placed.
Because of this, Chief Executive Ross Womersley is concerned that “South Australia is missing out on a whole lot of tax income.”
“When a gambling corporation does not have to be incorporated or resident in a jurisdiction, but can still use the license of a jurisdiction like Norfolk Island to lessen their taxes, I think we have gone beyond real business and are talking about virtual tax havens and [lega] tax avoidance,” Womersley said, according to the report.