India to reduce tax for online casinos
India will reduce tax for online casinos Indian authorities have taken the initiative to do away with the double tax system and have already started drafting a bill that would introduce a flat tax. It is reported that a local agency, the GST council, which specialises in such issues, has formed a working group that is working on developing a taxation system.
According to reports in the mainstream media, the local authorities have decided to review the tax policy due to a large number of speculations in the current system. Online gambling in India is taxed at different levels – games “for skill” are taxed at 18%, while games “for luck” are taxed at 28%.
This division leads to speculation and abuse during litigation, which in turn seriously complicates operations in the region, as it is not always possible to quickly discern which category a game belongs to.
Today the task force has already started working on a report, based on which it will conduct a balanced assessment of the gambling market and work out the taxation issues. In particular, parliamentarians will consider whether to continue taxing only casinos or users as well.
The head of the All India Gaming Federation, Mr Roland Landers, said his organisation plans to introduce a flat tax rate of 18%. Critics of the bill say that online gambling is a lottery, a game of chance that can be harmful to underage players, so an increased tax rate of 28% is required.
