Bulgaria Parliament Budget Commission Rejects 15% Gambling Tax
The Budget Commission of the Bulgarian National Assembly has rejected the motion of the conservative party RZS and the Blue Coalition to raise the tax on gambling to 15%.
The conservative party “Law, Order, Justice” (RZS) and the members of the Blue Coalition had proposed that the gambling tax be raised from its current 10% to 15%, arguing that this should be calculated on a profit basis.
The Council of Ministers has confirmed on Friday that it has accepted only the proposal to increase the tax to 12%, on the basis of turnover.
They also rejected another Blue Coalition proposal to tax gambling machines whether they were in use or not.
The parliamentarians have adopted proposals to tax gambling and betting machines, at BGN 500 every three months.
The tax on a roulette table has been set at BGN 22 000 for the same period, and all other types of gambling machines to be taxed at BGN 5 000 per quarter.
The Bulgarian parliament voted at first reading on November 4, 2009 in favor of an increase in the tax rate on gambling activities from 10% to 12% as part of amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Act.
The amendments are expected to come into force in January 2010, thus harmonizing all Bulgarian gambling tax rates.
The Bulgarian Association for Entertainment and Gambling Game reacted to the decision, forecasting a collapse of the gambling industry, with up to 40 000 jobs being put at risk, and a loss of government revenue.
Source
Portugal
Bulgaria
