31.-(1) The House of Representatives may from time
to time by resolution impose a duty to be known as the pool betting duty on stake money
paid in pool betting, and may revoke, reduce, increase or alter any duty and may provide
for exemptions therefrom, and different pool betting duties may be imposed in respect of
different forms of pool betting.
(2) The pool betting duty shall be paid by the operator of
the pool betting, so, however, that in the case of bets made by means of a totalisator,
the operator shall be deemed to be the person who as principal operates the totalisator.
(3) For the purposes of the pool betting duty, any payment which
entitles a person to make a bet by way of pool betting shall, if he makes the bet, be
treated as stake money on the bet, and this subsection shall apply to any payment
entitling a person to take part in a transaction which is, on his part, only not a bet
made by way of pool betting by reason of his not in fact making any stake as if the
transaction were such a bet, and the transaction shall accordingly be treated as a bet for
the purposes of the pool betting duty.
(4) Where no scheme is established under section 28 or if the monetary
contributions referred to in subsection (2) thereof are considered by the Minister
responsible for finance insufficient to fulfil the purposes of that subsection he may, by
order, allocate for those purposes such portion of the pool betting duty levied and
collected under this Part as he is satisfied the circumstances warrant.
32.-(1)
The pool betting duty
shall be paid to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue not later than fourteen days
after the event to which the pool betting relates and may, without prejudice to any other
means of recovery, be recovered by a Collector of Taxes under the Tax Collection Act.
(2) Any person who intends to carry on a business the carrying on of
which involves or may involve any sums becoming payable by him by way of the pool betting
duty shall-
(a) not less than one week before he first carries on such business
notify the Commissioner of Inland Revenue that he intends to carry it on; and
(b) not later than the date when he first uses any premises or totalisator for
the purposes of the business, make entry of those premises or that totalisator with the
Commissioner of Inland Revenue.
(3) Any person for the time being carrying on such a business as
aforesaid shall-
(a) keep such books, records and accounts in relation to the business as may be
prescribed or as the Commissioner of Inland Revenue may in any case direct; and
(b) for at least six months or such shorter or longer period as
the Commissioner of Inland Revenue may in any particular case direct, preserve, on
premises on which entry has been made as mentioned in subsection (2), any books, records
and accounts directed to be kept by him under paragraph (a ' ) and any other books,
records, accounts or documents relating to the business; and
(c) permit any officer authorized in that behalf by the
Commissioner of Inland Revenue to enter on any premises used for the purposes of the
business to inspect any totalisator used for the purposes thereof, and to inspect and take
copies of any books, records, accounts or other documents in his possession or power or on
any premises used for the purposes of the business, being books, records, accounts or
documents which relate or appear to relate to the business, and any such person and any
other person employed in, or having functions in connection with, any such business
shall, if required so to do by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue 1211985 or any officer
authorized in that behalf by him, produce, at a time and place to be specified by the
Commissioner of Inland Revenue or the officer, any such books, records, accounts or
documents relating to the business, make, at times and to persons to be so specified, such
returns relating to the business, and give such other information relating to the
business, as the Commissioner of Inland Revenue or the officer may require.
(4) Any person who-
(a) fails to pay any pool betting duty payable by him; or
(b) contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of
subsection (2) or (3);
(c) obstructs any officer in the exercise of his functions in relation
to the pool betting duty; or
(d) in connection with the pool betting duty, makes any statement which
he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes any statement which is
false in a material particular, or, with intent to deceive, produces or makes use of any
book, account, record, return or other document which is false in a material particular;
or
(e) is knowingly concerned in, or in the taking of steps with a
view to, the fraudulent evasion, by him or any other person, of the pool betting duty,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty-five
thousand dollars, and in default Of payment thereof to imprisonment with or without hard
labour for a term not exceeding eighteen months.
(5) Where a person is convicted under subsection (4) in respect of a
failure to comply with any of the provisions of subsection (2) or (3) and the failure
continues after the conviction, then, unless he has a reasonable excuse for the
continuance of the failure, he shall be guilty of a further offence against subsection (4)
and may, on conviction, be punished accordingly.
(6) In this section, except where the context otherwise requires,
"officer" means an officer of the Inland Revenue Department, and includes any
person who is expressly authorized by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to perform the
duties of an officer of the Inland Revenue Department for the purposes of this section.
33.-(1)
A tax (to be known as "bet
winnings tax") is imposed at the rate of 5 per centum of the winnings on
any bet made by a bettor-
(a) with a bookmaker;
(b) with an operator of off track pool betting;
(c) by means of a totalisator on an approved racecourse or
licensed track,
so, however, that the House of Representatives may from time to
time by resolution reduce, increase or alter the tax and may provide for exemption
therefrom, and different rates of tax may be specified in such resolution in respect of
different kinds of bets.
(2) For the purposes of the bet winnings tax (hereafter referred to as
"the
tax")
(a) "winnings" means the gross sum returnable to a bettor on a
separate bet, in accordance with directions (if any) given in writing by the Commissioner
of Inland Revenue and approved by the Minister responsible for finance as to the method of
calculating the gross sum returnable on a bet;.
(b) where a bettor bets on more than one contingency on the terms that, in
the event of his bet being successful in respect of one contingency, his stake on the bet,
or his winnings in respect of that contingency, or both, are to provide the stake in
respect of another contingency, then, unless he makes his bet on both or all of those
contingencies at the same time on the terms that both his original stake and the whole of
his winnings in respect of any of those contingencies are to be the stake in respect of
any other contingency on which the bet is made-
(i) he shall be treated as making a separate bet on each respectively
of those contingencies and as staking on each of those separate bets the amount
respectively provided for by the terms of the original bet
(ii) any of those separate bets which depends on the outcome of another
or others of them shall be treated as made if and when the conditions on which it depends
are satisfied.
34. The tax shall be deducted from winnings in respect
of-
- a bet with a bookmaker, (and without prejudice to paragraphs (i) to (iv)) by the
bookmaker;
- a bet made with an operator referred to in paragraph
(b) of subsection (1) of
section 33, by the operator;
- a bet made by means of a totalisator on an approved racecourse or licensed
track, by the operator, that is to say, the person who as principal, operates the
totalisator, and in respect of a bet with a bookmaker shall be recoverable jointly and severally
from all or any of the following persons, namely-
(i) that bookmaker;
(ii) the holder of the bookmaker's permit or betting office licence relating to the
business in the course of which. or the premises at which, the bet was made;
(iii) any person responsible for the management
of that business or those
premises
(iv) where the bookmaker is a company, any director of that company.
35.-(1) The tax shall be paid to the Commissioner of Inland
Revenue, in relation to any week, not later than fourteen days after the end of that week,
by the person who is obliged to deduct the tax from winnings pursuant to section 34 and
may, without prejudice to any other means of recovery, be recovered by a Collector of
Taxes under the Tax Collection Act.
(2) In this section "week" means the period commencing
immediately after twelve o'clock midnight on each Saturday and ending at twelve o'clock
midnight on the Saturday next following.
(3) A person who intends to carry on business the carrying
on of which involves or may involve any sum becoming payable by him in respect of the tax
shall-
(a) not less than seven days before he first carries
on such business,
notify the Commissioner of Inland Revenue that he intends to carry it on; and
(b) not later than the date when he first uses any premises or totalisator for the
purposes of the business, make entry of those premises or that totalisator with the
Commissioner of Inland venue.
(4) The provisions of subsections (3), (4), (5) and (6) of section 32 relating to pool
betting duty shall mutatis mutandis apply for the purposes of the tax.
36.-(1) For the purposes of the tax,
where by reason of the failure of a person to produce the prescribed books, records,
accounts, returns or other documents or information which the Commissioner of Inland
Revenue may have received from any source whatever, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue is
satisfied that he has not been given a true or proper account of betting transactions
negotiated by that person or his agents or servants during any period, the Commissioner of
Inland Revenue may, after consideration of any representation or information which that
person as aforesaid may make or supply to aim (as the case may be) assess the amount which
shall be deemed by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to constitute winnings and the tax
in relation to that period shall be payable on the winnings so assessed.
(2) Any person aggrieved by an assessment of the
Commissioner of Inland Revenue under subsection (1) may appeal to the Revenue Court within
thirty days (or such other period in lieu thereof as may be specified by rules
of court) from the date of notification of such assessment and subject to any rules
of court governing appeals to the Revenue Court.
(3) The onus of proving that the assessment of the Commissioner of
Inland Revenue is excessive or erroneous shall be on the person appealing.
37.-(1) If it is proved to the satisfaction of the
Commissioner of Inland Revenue that an amount of the tax has been paid in excess of that
properly payable, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue shall cause the amount so paid in
excess to be refunded to any person appearing to be entitled thereto.
(2) No claim for a refund under this section shall be made after the expiration of the
period of six years from the date of payment in question: Provided that, where any person satisfies the Commissioner of Inland Revenue that in
the special circumstances of the case it was not reasonably practicable for that
person to make his claim within such period therefor as aforesaid, the Commissioner
of Inland Revenue shall extend the period as he thinks just.