Lawmakers push for end to VAT exemption for gambling in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Our Party lawmakers have proposed amendments to gambling legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in a bid to direct revenue to social and health projects.
Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Lawmakers are seeking to remove the VAT exemption for gambling in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Members of the social-liberal and multi-ethnic Our Party have presented a bill that would remove the exemption this year.
Presented by House representative Mia Karamehić Abazović and Amir Purić, the measure proposes the creation of a “fair and responsible” tax framework for gambling to direct revenue to social and health infrastructure projects.
Abazović told local news outlet N1 that gambling should not benefit from more favourable tax treatment than sectors such as food, medicine and books. She said: “Today, gambling is the only legal activity that creates addiction but is not taxed at the state level. Alcohol and tobacco products are subject to both excise taxes and VAT precisely because of the harmful consequences for citizens’ health.”
Purić described the proposal as “matter of elementary fiscal fairness”. he said the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina currently collects less than KM 35m (£17.9m) annually from an industry that generates KM 1.8bn in revenue. He said the proposed Gambling Act amendments would increase that amount to at least KM 150m a year for the Federation and an additional KM 50m for local communities.
The proposal is for the additional funds to be directed toward cancer care, treatment of rare and serious illnesses, programmes addressing compulsive behaviour and the purchase of critical medical equipment. Purić said funds could also support science, culture, sports, and entrepreneurship.
However, it’s not the first time time that there have been proposals to change gambling taxation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In November, Dennis Gratz of the Democratic Front proposed a new distribution model that would allocate 60 per cent of gambling tax revenue to the treasury, 20 per cent to social initiatives, and 20 per cent to specialised healthcare, but the proposal has not advanced to date.
