The bingo industry still may have to wait for another year before a final decision is made on the VAT reclaims. Mecca Bingo recently took the Government to court over VAT on participation fees and was successful in winning the case.

However the Government appealed the decision and although they lost the appeal, they have been given another opportunity to appeal the case.

A recent article in the News of the World reported that the Labour Party have been handed £4.6 million, made up of 2.15 million in reclaim and £2.45 million in interest. The government have taken £8.5 billion to thousands of organisations after taking too much cash in VAT claims. Meanwhile the bingo industry has to wait for probably another year before the case will be heard again. It is widely expected that the Government will lose the case and this will ultimately cost the taxpayers a lot of money.

Bingo Boss Roger Cooper has stated, "Why are the Government still defending the indefensible? Why not just allow the industry to claim back what is rightfully ours and allow us to continue to invest in this important social function for many years to come." he went onto say "The Government should remember they are elected to represent the UK communities, I want to know why the Labour Party appears to be ahead of the queue in getting its money and they have not fought against these reclaims in the same manner it is fighting against the bingo industry."

The bingo industry has written to most MPs about another ongoing tax issue and staged a protest outside the Houses of Parliament. It has gone a little bit quiet as bingo bosses are taking stock of their current trading conditions. The bingo industry is well aware that an election will be fought sometime next year and as the industry is still urging the Government to reconsider its position on the 22 percent tax rate, behind the scenes a much bigger campaign is going to be created on the lead up to the election.