Italian government considers gaming tax structure changes
Sources suggest changes part of a series of austerity measures.
The Italian government is debating proposals to change the country’s tax on egaming operators, eGaming Review has learned.
The Ministry of Finance is thought to have discussed a series of changes to the rate of taxation on a number of sectors including gambling. Sources within the Ministry suggest that the tax rate paid by egaming operators “ currently 20% of gross profit “ will be changed to 1% of turnover.
A spokesman for the Ministry declined to confirm details of the proposals when contacted by eGaming Review, but revealed that potential measures were being debated, and that an announcement was likely to be made within the next week to 10 days. Italian regulator AAMS has confirmed that it has not been involved in discussions at this stage, and was keen to stress that all news released so far was “rumours.”
In December last year the unity government led by prime minister and minister for economy and finance Mario Monti passed a 30bn austerity package, which included tax hikes, VAT increases, and stricter controls over tax evasion, with Monti giving up his own salary as part of the plan.
The austerity package also saw funding to the Italian horse racing industry cut, leading to a strike which shut down all racing in the country, and saw horse betting market leader Snai’s revenues cut by around 50% before racing was resumed on 11 February, despite having secured no new funding.