Costa Rica May Introduce Taxes on Online Gambling
Published: Saturday, August 29, 2009 Online-Casinos.com
Costa Rica is most likely one of the few jurisdictions where online gambling operations are permitted without any regulations of taxation. But now the finance ministry is about to present to the legislature of the country a bill to regulate online casino operations located there. According to the Costa Rican newspaper AM Costa Rica, authorities plan on levying a tax on online casino operators based in the country. This is not welcome news for the operators there who have been enjoying a tax free status for quite some time.
Estimates from the department of finance are that the proposed legislation, if passed could raise as much as $100 million in funds for the nation. For several months arguments have been on going in the legislature both for and against the need for taxation of the online gambling industry in Costa Rica.
Jobs in Costa Rica have been provided by the industry and there is a fear that should a tax laws be introduced the country will suffer more unemployment. Experts agree that online gambling operators will leave the country for more profitable jurisdictions. Costa Rica has been a success story because the favourable tax laws allow for a reasonable margin in the highly competitive online gambling industry.
Minister Jenny Phillips has said the online casino industry is presently entirely unregulated, and some amount of taxation could be expected at any new location.
The largest and most established sports betting operation in Costa Rica in terms of bet sizes taken, BetCRIS, Chief Executive Officer, Mickey Richardson, said, "They (The Costa Rican Government) needs to understand our business and the consequences before passing such a law," "Hopefully nothing will happen. I think they would ask for our input and then we might be more supportive." It is estimated that the online gambling industry employs as many as 10,000 or more people both directly and indirectly in the nation. "The industry pays above average salaries and contributes substantially to household incomes," Richardson said.
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