DSWV warns Germany “destroying own work” with stake tax

Operator association der Deutsche Sportwettenverband (DSWV) has criticised the 5.3% turnover tax set to be included alongside the country's State Treaty on Gambling, the Glücksspielneuregulierungstaatsvetrag (GlüNeuRStv).

The tax – 5.3% on online poker and online slot turnover – was approved by the Bundestag earlier this week.

However the DSWV argues that the government is “jeopardizing the success of the new gambling regulation in Germany” with the inclusion of the tax, which will tax a customer’s individual stake rather than the operator’s earnings from slots and poker.

DSWV president Mathias Dahms said: “By taxing the individual stakes, the state asks the customer to pay for every single spin of the virtual slots – over and over again, every few seconds and even if the stakes come from previous winnings. There is a reason that all other EU countries have imposed an income tax on these games and not a gaming stake tax.”

This isn’t the DSWV’s first objection to the tax, having filed a complaint with the EU earlier this month. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) also voiced its concern and filed a similar complaint, arguing that the turnover tax violates European law.

Dahms added: “When it comes to online gambling, Germany is turning the wrong way in tax policy in Europe. For years, the countries had struggled to find a compromise on the State Treaty on Gambling and to open up the online gambling markets in order to finally get this area under regulatory control.

“Now the countries are destroying their own work with an over-taxed regime for virtual slots and online poker in the last meters.”

Original Article