The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s unicameral parliament, saw 252 of its members voting in favor of bill 2713-D, which intends to lower taxes for those organizing gambling and lotteries in the country. The bill is set to dismiss the agreed annual fee for online casinos at $200,000 and replace it with a set tax rate, which will be based on gross gaming revenue or income.
What will be the New Ukraine Gambling Tax?
A 10% set tax rate will be on from the organizers of online poker games and online casinos. Ukrainian bookmakers will be taxed 5%, operators of slot machines and those who gamble in land-based casinos will be taxed at 12,5%; while a 10% tax will be deducted from those operating lotteries.
Even though winnings derived from gambling will be exempt from personal income tax and military tax, gambling organizers will be required to pay a basic income tax.
Last year, lawmakers underlined that the legalization of gambling should bring in $150m to $200m in tax revenue. So, the parliament legalized it. Despite this, Ukrainian lawmakers were warned recently by a Parliamentary committee to not reduce taxes.
More specifically, the Scientific and Expert Management Committee of the Ukraine Parliament supported that warning by saying that there was not enough evidence to justify a decrease in gambling tax. It also called for a policy that minimizes problem gambling and motivates operators to contribute to social programs that address the negative impact of gambling.