Mecca Bingo wins big tax break - Online Bingo News

The Rank Group plc is celebrating today after receiving a huge tax refund from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) office to the tune of £59.1 million.

The windfall repayment sum is for taxes already paid on the Group's Mecca Bingo clubs over a period of more than 5 years, from Jan 2003 to June 2008, on games of interval bingo.

Rank submitted a repayment claim to HMRC in 2006, on the grounds that certain types of interval bingo games are exempt from VAT. The UK VAT and Duties Tribunal ruled in their favour after finding that EU fiscal neutrality principles were contravened.

HMRC are not satisfied with the outcome, and have already filed an appeal which will take the case to the High Court in early 2009. Should they succeed in their counter-claim, Rank could find itself repaying today's repayment with interest.

Rank today announced receipt of the repayment, and stated that the £59 million would not be recognised as revenue or operating profits. Shares in the company were up almost 6% today following the announcement.

Written by Charlene Grey for BingoStreet.com – the number one UK resource for bingo online featuring the best bingo promotions.