Rachel Reeves faces pressure over gambling tax plans threatening horseracing industry and

Rachel Reeves has come under fresh pressure to abandon plans to increase gambling taxes amid fears it will decimate the horseracing industry and rural communities. Leading national hunt trainer Nicky Henderson said people are "frightened" and "scared" about the impact amid warnings that thousands of jobs could be put at risk.

He is one of one of a number of trainers urging the Chancellor not to press ahead with plans to replace the three separate taxes for remote gambling with a single duty. This means betting on horseracing could be subject to the same taxes as online casinos. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Express, Mr Henderson said: "I think there's no doubt, there's a big concern about the effect it could have."

The six-times British jump racing champion trainer said the impact will not only be huge on horse racing, bookmakers and sponsors but the fabric of many rural communities across the country.

"I think it is genuinely going to have a knock on effect, which will come down into the grassroots of racing," he said, highlighting areas like Lambourn in Berkshire, where he trains his horses and employs around 60 staff.

"It's a big community, and a lot of people are involved. And I think everybody's frightened that the knock on effect will be loss of jobs and the industry will be severely weakened by what could happen. Everybody is watching with baited breath, to be honest with you, pretty frightened of what the consequences could be."

Punters' winnings from gambling are not taxed in the UK, nor is VAT charged on bets. However, the gambling industry pays extra taxes, including a tax of 21% on online casino gaming stakes and a general betting duty on sports fixtures of 15% and the same for horseracing.

The Treasury has been consulting on plans to harmonise online gambling duties, a move which British racing has warned could wipe at least £66 million from the sport's income in its first year and put 2,752 jobs in jeopardy.

Mr Henderson, 74, who has trained the winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, said it is "scary" to think about the wider impact the measures would have.

"There's veterinarians, the saddlers, the blacksmiths, but also the hotels and the pubs and all the other businesses and people that are geared to this one wonderful game," he said.

"For everyone involved, this is scary."

Baroness Dido Harding, a former amateur jockey, said: "It's completely existential for the sport.

"It could be really bad news for the communities and people who live and work in racing across the whole country.

"There's about 85,000 people who work in horseracing across the country, in lots of rural areas, but also in urban areas, at race courses too.

"Racing is a very rare sport that really does go from the King and the Queen right the way down to ordinary working people across the country, and to hear the fact that we love it and we create jobs and joy at a time when joy is a bit lacking. So please don't shoot us in the foot."

Ms Reeves has been encouraged by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to increase taxes on the gambling sector in next month's Budget and use the revenue from that to reduce child poverty.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank estimated over the summer that additional taxes on the industry, as high as 50%, could raise £3.2billion.

Louie French, the Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, said: "Labour are currently gambling with lives and livelihoods and I'm deeply concerned about the impact on British horseracing. The government needs to be supporting it, not trying to tax it into oblivion."

He warned that the cumulative impact of the Chancellor's National Insurance hike in last year's budget plus the inheritance tax increase on farming and small businesses, combined with the potential effects of raising gambling taxes will decimate the rural communities.

"This is just another nail in the coffin. And if we want to celebrate our way of life, our British way of life, we have to make sure that we are backing our rural communities."

Lee Dillon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Newbury reiterated calls on the Chancellor to ditch the plans as well as the jobs and farming taxes.

"It's quite clear that if the Chancellor does make that decision, it's going to hurt local businesses. If you think of Lambourn, it's about 4000 people heavily reliant on the horse racing industry, but also the town of Newbury as well.

"The racehorse industry is worth about 30 million pounds a year to the constituency of Newbury, and if we see that gambling harmonisation, we're going to see less profit going into horseracing."

British Horseracing Authority chair Lord Allen has previously warned the proposed changes are "nothing short of an existential threat for our sport".

A Treasury spokesperson said: "We know horseracing is part of the cultural fabric of the country, that's why it's the only sector that benefits from a government-mandated levy whilst betting at the races gets a 100% tax break - which we have no plans to change.

"The Chancellor has been clear that at Budget she will strike the right balance between making sure that we have enough money to fund our public services, whilst also ensuring that we can bring growth and investment to businesses in rural communities."