Goa’s casinos pay licence fees

Casinos in the Indian state paid their annual recurring licence fees to the government.

India.- Six onshore and five offshore casinos paid the annual recurring fees to India’s government on Friday, leaving it US$29.9 million richer. The payment comes in the middle of a fight to lower the taxes that casinos are forced to pay every year, as operators believe that they’re too high.

The government is expecting another US$15 million payment as there are facilities that still haven’t paid the revised fees. Late April saw the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Goa ask the state government to release a proposal to reduce the licence fees that were recently hit with an increase. State casino operators had already submitted a petition to the government expressing their concerns over the tax hike that has been damaging their businesses.

Moreover, the casino lobby will soon decide Goa’s next Chief Minister, and the appointment will likely help determine a clear scheme for operators that have been suffering ever since the fees increased 2.5 to four times what they were paying.