BETTING TAX. By the enactment of the Finance Act, 1926, the British Parliament imposed a duty on bets and betting, a means of raising revenue that was recommended by a majority of the House of Commons committee appointed in 1923 to report on the subject. The tax was withdrawn by the Finance Act of 1929, but the f Io bookmakers' licence duty was retained and a new duty of f 4o a year imposed on them in respect of every telephone installed in their offices; a tax of I% was also imposed on stakes laid with a totalizator.
The scheme of the legislation was to charge excise duties on bet ting, and on certificates required to be taken out by bookmakers in respect of their businesses. From Nov. 1, 1926 to April 15, 1929, betting duty had to be paid on every bet made with a book maker, at 32% (later 2%) of the amount staked. In the case of a bet in respect of a horse race made on the racecourse, on the day of a race, with a bookmaker on the course, by a person on the course, the rate of duty was 2% of the amount staked. Book makers had to take out a "bookmaker's certificate" annually, on which an annual duty of Lio was paid, and a similar duty was payable annually in respect of an "entry certificate," which had to be taken out by a bookmaker for betting premises used by him.
The betting duty was payable by the bookmaker with whom the bet was made, who had to issue to the backer at the time of making the bet a "revenue ticket" denoting that the duty had been paid. These tickets did not need, however, to be issued by a bookmaker who had arranged with the commissioners of inland revenue to fur nish returns of all bets made with him and had given security for the payment of the duty.
Penalties were provided for contravention of the act, for carry ing on business as a bookmaker without having a proper cer tificate in force, and for keeping or using, or assisting or being concerned in the keeping or using, of any betting premises in respect of which a proper entry certificate was not in force. Any person found accepting a bet without issuing a revenue ticket, or failing to produce a bookmaker's certificate when lawfully re quired, could be arrested without a warrant. A court before which a bookmaker was convicted of any offence under these provisions could order him to be disqualified from holding a bookmaker's certificate for any period the court considered fit ; but a book maker so disqualified could apply after three months for the removal of the disqualification.
In July 1927 the chancellor of the exchequer stated in the House of Commons that in the eight months to the end of June 1927 the tax had yielded about f 1,750,000. The amount received by the Board of Customs and Excise for Betting certificates was in the financial year 1927-28.
An alteration made by the Finance Act of 1927 was the extension of the duty reduction to 2%, which in 1926 applied only to bets on horse races, or to bets made on the ground on any sporting event; but on Oct. I, 1928, the tax on racecourse bets was reduced to i%, and from 3 2 % to 2% on those made with the bookmaker. The decision to abolish the tax in 1929 was due to the admitted difficulties of administration, the number of evasions owing to the large volume of betting which still passed through the hands of the unrecognized street bookmaker, and dissatisfaction with the returns. The experience of other countries where the method of collection is either by means of the totalizator or the pari mutuel indicates that taxation in this form will yield a satisfactory return. The totalizator (q.v.) is a machine operated by electric power, which registers every bet made with it, and shows publicly the amount of money staked on each horse in the particular race, and the total amount staked on all horses in the race. (J. S. S.) (Bet'tdos-i-koid), urban district, Car narvonshire, north Wales, situated on the Llugwy, near its conflu ence with the Conway. Southward, above the confluence, the Vale of Conway is narrow, and in less than two miles the confluence of the Lledr from the west and the Conway from the east is reached, giving routes to Blaenau Festiniog and Corwen respectively. Population (1931) 912. The words y coed ("the wood") are added to distinguish the village from more than one other Bettws (= Bede-house) in Wales. Since the days of David Cox the neighbourhood, with its beautiful glen and river scenery, has been famous as a centre for artists and tourists. In summer it is much visited by motor traffic from England and from the seaside resorts of north and west Wales, being well served by roads, and by the railway (London, Midland and Scottish) from Conway. It is also on one of the main approaches to Snowdonia, Telford's "Holyhead Road" crossing the Conway by an iron bridge dating from 1815. The picturesque bridge over the Llugwy in the village dates from the 15th century. Most of the streams provide trout fishing; and the Conway, where the primitive coracle has long lingered, is famous for its salmon. Other objects of interest are the Swallow falls (Rhaidr-y-Wenol) 2 a m. from Bettws to the west and Dolwyddelan Castle, about 6 m. S.W. of Bettws-y-coed, a keep of uncertain date near a slate-quarrying village of that name, the birth-place of Llewellyn the Great (1 194-1240).