Lithuania Blocks Proposal to Raise Gambling and Lottery Taxes
Lithuania’s Finance Ministry has rejected a proposal from the Farmers and Greens Union to increase taxes on gambling and lotteries.
The proposal would have raised the gambling tax from 22% to 30% and the lottery tax from 18% to 25%. Deputy Janus Kizenevic declined to forward the proposal to the Seimas for review.
Kizenevic argued that licensed gambling operators are already covering costs linked to Lithuania’s ongoing regulatory changes. He also noted that the Farmers and Greens Union had not consulted the ministry before submitting the proposal.
The country’s current 22% gambling tax applies to gross gaming revenue from betting, totalisators, bingo, table games, gaming machines and online gambling. Lottery operator Olifeja pays an 18% tax based on the nominal value of distributed tickets.
Instead of increasing the lottery tax, the ministry has proposed changing how the existing 18% is distributed. Under the draft, 10 percentage points would go to the state budget and the remaining eight to non-governmental organisations and other eligible recipients.
Janus Kizenevic, Deputy, explained:
The new draft does not envisage changing the total tax burden on lottery organisers. They would continue to pay the same 18% of the nominal value of distributed lottery tickets.
Based on the previous year’s lottery results, the proposed redistribution would reduce annual state-budget income by approximately €11.9 million.
