Legislation
Czech – Czech Finance Minister looks at increasing gambling tax
By Phil - 9 April 2019
The Ministry of Finance in Czech wants to ‘increase the public budget’ in 2020 by raising taxes across every sector of its gambling industry.
It has earmarked gambling, alcohol and tobacco for tax increases. As the highest taxed gambling sector at 35 per cent of revenue, slot machines would be exempt from the increase.
Lotteries, table gaming, bingo would be taxed at 30 per cent and fixed-odds betting would increase from 23 per cent to 25 per cent.
The Ministry said: “The proposed amendment to the gambling tax law divides the rate of gambling tax into three levels, according to the harmfulness of individual gambling in the same way as the government’s draft Gambling Tax Act of 2015.”
Politician Miroslav Kalousek slammed the increase for lotteries as ‘disproportionate and unnecessary.’
Others such as Jan Bartošek believe that a higher tax rate might increase illegal gambling.
