Ukrainian Gambling Tax Bill Progresses to Second Reading

Verkhovna Rada, the parliament of Ukraine, has sent a bill that would set gambling taxes in the country to a second reading, though an attempt to wave through the proposal with a single vote failed.

The proposal – bill 2713-D – was first put forward by a legislative committee in February this year and would set tax rates at 10% of gross revenue for all verticals. In addition, the proposal also repeals a threefold increase in licence fees that would have applied until the country established a central monitoring system for gambling.

The Rada first voted on whether to pass the bill into law, without the need for a second reading. Although many more deputies voted for the bill than against, by a 217-59 margin, 55 members either abstained or didn’t vote. As a result, the bill fell short of the 226 votes required to pass a bill without a second reading.

After this vote failed, deputies then voted on whether to instead simply pass the bill to a second reading. In this case, 229 deputies voted for the bill and 58 against, allowing it to pass.

The bill had previously been scheduled for a first reading on 19 May, but this vote was delayed to June.