Ukraine Gambling Tax Bill Passes to Second Vote

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s legislature, has sent a bill that will set the country’s gambling taxes through to a second reading. However, an attempt to have the bill passed with a single vote failed.

The bill, 2713-D, was put forward by a legislative committee in February, and if implemented, it will set tax rates at 10% of gross revenue for all forms of gambling. Winnings are taxed at eight times the annual minimum wage in the country.

Furthermore, the bill will also cancel a tripling of the license fees that would have been put in place until the country establishes a central monitoring system for gambling. Previous plans for gambling tax in the newly regulated Ukrainian market called for a tax rate of 10% to 30% of gross revenue depending on the form of gambling.

The legislature first voted on whether to pass the bill into law without the need for a second reading. The bill was supported by 217 votes, with 59 against it. However, 55 members abstained, which means that the vote didn’t reach the 226 votes it would need to become law without a second reading. There was then a vote on whether to pass the bill to a second reading, and this vote passed by 229 votes against 58.

The bill was meant to have its first reading on 19 May, but it was then delayed until June. Just before the originally scheduled vote, the Scientific and Expert Management Committee of the Verkhovna Rada criticized the bill saying that taxes should be higher in order to protect state and local budgets. It argued that as gambling may have a negative social impact, the taxes should be designed to limit consumption.