A recent report for UK trade association BACTA by Ernst and Young claims that plans to introduce a new tax system for the industry mean that seaside amusement arcades are under threat of closure.
According to BACTA, businesses faced an average additional tax bill of £400,000, which will "almost certainly" add to the 200 arcade closures in the past two years, with the worst-hit businesses potentially having to pay out more than £1m.
BACTA president Derek Petrie commented: "At present we have a taxation system that works and is understood by arcade owners. In front of us we have a proposal to discard that system and replace it with a new tax that will threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of operators at seaside resorts across the UK.
"The new system will introduce further complexity and a burden of compliance to an already strained industry. The data from Ernst and Young clearly states that the losers from these changes will face large, crippling new tax bills of £400,000 on average. This change is disruptive, unwarranted and under-researched.
"We have seen over 200 amusement arcades close in the past two years, many of them small, family-run seaside businesses. While the government is busy promoting UK seaside tourism with one hand, the Treasury seems intent on taking it away with the other."
