for early access to the latest igaming videos!
and get the latest igaming news first!
The government of Neuquén, led by the province’s governor, Rolando Figueroa, is promoting a series of tax and regulatory reforms that will directly affect the betting industry. This initiative, which aims at increasing the revenue collected by the province, as well as updating the regulatory and tax treatment applied to the activity, considers the need for the sector’s regulatory and taxation system to be brought in line with the treatment applied to other commercial activities, as the current one is considered outdated, as explained by the Executive branch.
Based on the information that has been made public in the last few days, one of the main initiatives contemplated within the project is the increase in the Gross Income Tax rate applied to the betting companies operating in the province. If the project is approved, the rate applied to the activity would be increased from 2% to 3%, bringing the activity in line with the taxation treatment applied to other commercial activities in the country.
Tax Increase and Changes to the Operating Fee
Although the project has not been officially confirmed, the initiative promoted by the Neuquén government goes beyond the increase in the Gross Income Tax rate applied to the activity. The project also includes changes to the operating fee that the companies operating in the province must pay for the exploitation of the gaming activities.
Currently, both land-based gaming halls and online betting platforms must pay an operating fee of 15% over the revenue obtained from the activity. Under the new project, the operating fee for land-based gaming halls would be increased to 17%, while the percentage applied to the digital segment would remain the same.
Another major aspect of the reform is the way in which the operating fee will be calculated. Currently, the basis for the payment of the fee is the revenue generated in the same month of the previous year. This approach, however, is not appropriate in an environment with high levels of inflation, since the data used does not represent the current economic realities.
In the new approach, the basis for the payment of the fee will be the revenue generated in the month before the current month. This approach will ensure that the data used is more reflective of the realities in the economy.
A Push for Fairer Rules and Stronger Public Finances
From the point of view of the Executive in the province, the measures that the government is putting in place are not only about raising more revenue. They claim that the measures will ensure that there is fairness in the rules governing the sector, in addition to strengthening the resources used to support public works.
In the opinion of the Executive in the province, the initiative is part of the efforts to review public expenditure, reduce the expenditure of the public sector, and review schemes that the government considers to be unfair or not in line with the realities in the economy.
In that respect, the betting sector in the province of Neuquén is being used to adjust the regulations to ensure that the sector is taxed fairly in line with the economic realities in the province. The sector is being targeted because of its economic importance.
As the discussions continue, the details of the initiative by the province of Neuquén in Argentina will provide insight into the future trends in the Latin American region, in which the governments in the region are reviewing the regulations used to guide the taxation of the betting sector.
Source: SBC Noticias
