Only three organizers of betting and lottery games, Volcano, Admiral Bet and Lob, began calculating tax on winnings in these games of chance as of January 1, while the other 35 organizers have not done so, "Vijesti" has learned.
The amendment to the Personal Income Tax Law, which entered into force on January 1, stipulates the obligation of betting and lottery organizers to calculate a 10 percent tax on winnings from 50 euros to 1.500 euros, and a 15 percent tax on winnings of no more than 1.500 euros.
The amendments to the law also provide for penalties of 500 to 20.000 euros for each payment of winnings without calculated tax.
The Tax Administration and the Ministry of Finance were notified yesterday that the implementation of the legal obligation has not begun for most organizers.
The state planned to generate three million euros in revenue from this tax. In addition to the lost revenue to the state, the fact that most organizers did not start calculating the tax at the same time leads to distortion of competition.
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The law stipulates that the tax calculation and its amount in the event of a win be stated on the ticket itself when it is printed, which is the case with these three bookmakers that apply the law.
At most other betting shops, as "Vijesti" has seen, the tickets are the same as before.
Some bookmakers who do not apply the law have announced on their websites and social networks that they can make profits without paying taxes because they "take it over", thus encouraging players from law-abiding bookmakers to switch to them.
"Vijesti" sent questions to the Tax Administration and the Ministry of Finance regarding this situation.
According to unofficial information from these institutions, inspections have been ordered to visit the organizers, check compliance with the law and impose appropriate measures. Also, two organizers who have not started calculating taxes yesterday requested additional information on how to calculate them.
The law stipulates that only winnings from lottery and betting games, as well as from the organization of the so-called global jackpot, are taxable if they exceed 50 euros. Winnings are considered the difference between the amount of an individual payment (on a ticket) and the winnings from that payment.
The tax is 10 percent on winnings between 50 and 1.500 euros, and 15 percent on the part exceeding that amount. The tax will be deducted when the winnings are paid out in cash, to a bank account, to the player's account with the organizer, or when the winnings are used to continue playing. Similar solutions already exist in Croatia and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For example, if a player with a deposit of five euros made a profit of 100 euros, the tax base is the difference of 95 euros. It is reduced by the non-taxable part of 50 euros, so that the winner is deducted 10 percent of the remaining 45 euros, or 4,5 euros.
The tax deduction will be done by the organizer, or rather its system for processing data on payments and disbursements. The organizer will forward the collected tax to the Tax Administration by the 15th day of the following month.
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