Ukrainian legislature passes first read on its gambling tax bill
Ukraine’s gambling tax bill has passed its first read, introducing a 10 per cent tax rate across all verticals.
Ukraine.- It’s been a long time coming, but Ukraine’s legislature has finally passed its first read to the bill that sets the tax rate for the newly legalised gambling market.
This first read was approved by 252 deputies against 73, easily clearing the 226 votes needed. There were 15 abstentions.
The bill, an updated version of one of many that were introduced last year when Ukraine re-legalised gambling, sets a flat 10 per cent tax rate for all types of gambling in the new licensed market.
Meanwhile, winnings that are worth more than eight months of the national minimum wage (now UAH48,000) will be taxed as income.
The legislature approved an abbreviated procedure to allow the bill to be adopted with a single vote. Last month, the bill received enough support for a second reading but not enough to be passed at the first.
The final tax rate and fees are lower than those originally proposed, despite the Ukrainian parliament’s Scientific and Expert Management Committee warning that the proposed tax reduction was unjustified and could lead to a need for government subsidies to make up a funding shortfall.
Ukraine’s new gambling regulator, the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL), has already issued a number of gambling licences under the new legislation.
Under an update made to the tax bill by the legislatures’ Finance Committee earlier this month, those licensees that have already been paying the higher fees will receive credit towards future payment.
The last update also allowed for players to deduct losses from taxable winnings that they make within a single 24-hour period.
Meanwhile, KRAIL has launched its register of excluded players and its first responsible gambling provisions. Players who want to self-exclude can apply to join the register for fixed periods of between six months and three years. They can also be added to the register by family or by the courts.
