Armenia plans to raise casino-related tax

Armenia’s finance ministry is planning to change the existing system of taxation to gambling operator. The ministry intends to base it directly on the gambling revenue. Now casinos pay fixed fee in Armenia, which varies from city to city (for example, in Tsakhkadzor—150 million drams per year, in Sevan—120, in Jermuk—80, in Meghri—30). In other areas, the fee is 4.5 billion (about 9.3 million $). The ministry wants to change the fixes fee to a variable tax based on the revenue of a particular casino.

“But it is more correct if the tax depends on their revenue. The more money they collect, the more they pay taxes. Previously, it was more difficult for us to keep track of what the casino turnover was, but now there is such an opportunity. Therefore, we will fix the turnover and count tax on it,” the acting Deputy Minister said.