The Ukrainian legislative body’s committee has expressed concern that the suggested consolidated tax rate on gambling income in Ukraine could have detrimental effects on both the national and local financial resources, potentially necessitating government assistance to bridge the resulting financial shortfall.
The committee highlighted that gambling can have adverse societal repercussions, and consequently, tax policy should strive to curtail gambling participation by raising taxes.
This levy should be established to guarantee that permit holders make an extra contribution to community initiatives and necessitate operators to raise their service costs to decrease the accessibility of gambling, the study asserts.
The panel also stressed that setting the prize tax rate at a particularly high level could result in a decline in national revenue from legal gambling.
Moreover, eliminating the higher fees during the “transition period” before the central monitoring system is in place would signify a reduction in funds available for economic, social, and cultural activities.
The panel believes that decreasing the funds available at the state and local level would actually cut budgets. It observes that, according to Article 103 of the nation’s Criminal Code, tax benefits impacting local budgets must be compensated by government subsidies, which it states is not provided for in the current tax proposal.
Finally, it poses the question of when these new taxes could be enforced. The legislation is scheduled to come into effect on April 1, indicating the implementation date needs to be updated. However, the panel notes that taxes and fees cannot be altered within a budget year. According to the Ukrainian Budget Code, measures that reduce the budget must be implemented by July 15 of the year preceding implementation.
The panel recommends that the Rada address the issues raised in its analysis.
