Romania Proposes Lower Taxes and Longer Gaming Licenses
Four years have gone by since Romania has introduced its gaming legislation and not a single license has been issued to a foreign operator.
It is commonly believed this is due to the high charges and 25-percent casino withholding taxes creating a local market unattractive for anyone other than the incumbents.
With this in mind along with EU Commission's complaints concerning the market potentially being overly restrictive of free trade, the Romanian Parliament is debating changes to its existing legislation in hopes it will be more attractive to gaming operators.
The proposed amendments being discussed include scrapping of the 25-percent casino withholding taxes, extending the licenses from five years to 10 years, and imposing a reasonable gaming tax of 0.1 percent on each cash-game poker pot.
Additionally taxes on Romanian residents may also be reduced if a gaming amendment is passed.
According to gaming law experts DLA Piper, The Budget Commission of the Chamber of Deputies has issued a favorable report on the proposed amendments with hopes that they can be enacted before second round of Presidential elections on Nov. 16.
While gaming operators and Romanian gamblers have a reason to be excited about potential changes, similar changes proposed at the end of 2013 were never passed.
Stay tuned at PokerNews as more develops in Romania's gaming marketplace.
Photo courtesy of fc06.deviantart.net
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