India insists on increasing gambling taxes

The government of India is set to implement a 28 percent tax on lottery tickets under new rules.

India.- The Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley announced that gambling operators will be subject to a 28 percent tax. The ruling establishes that all activities related to gambling will be placed under the country’s highest tax bracket, as AGBrief said.

During the first week of May it was reported that lottery tickets would be put among the highest category of their soon to be implemented goods and services tax (GST). Lotteries in India are run by either state governments or licensees and they are a business of nearly US$7.77 billion. The announcement grew concerns among lottery businessmen as some were worried that they would have to close their enterprises if the levy was set too high.

The news were announced after the two day GST Council meeting that was held in Srinagar on Thursday and Friday where ministers and officials from India shared their opinions. “GST in relation to the service sector was completely adopted in today’s meeting. In the services sector depending on the nature of the service, and for special reasons, various categorisations have been made,” commented Jaitley.