Effective July 1
The Indian government has announced that it’s raising the goods and services tax on casinos starting July 1.
A new indirect tax regime places gambling in the category of “luxury” entertainment that also includes cinemas and five-star hotels. Entry fees in casinos or other entertainment events will also be charged the highest GST rate, but there is no proposal yet to impose additional tax on gambling and betting activities, reported CalvinAyre.com.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, chairman of the GST Council, said it’s only fair that movie halls, casinos and gaming halls are taxed at the highest rate because entertainment and luxury taxes are already merged with service tax in GST. Casinos in Goa currently pay 15 percent gaming tax on their revenues, while casinos in Sikkim pay 10 percent gaming tax.
But race club operators are firmly opposed to the council’s decision to put racing in the highest tax bracket. In an interview with Midday.com, Vivek Jain, chairman of the Royal Western India Turf Club called the 28 percent GST a “killer tax” that may “drive most of the betting into illegal channels, something that will benefit neither the race clubs, nor the government.”
Online skill games, which do not fall under gambling, will likely be taxed at 18 percent.
