Taxes on gambling send the right message?

[RealMalatesta]

People will not complain if taxes are used the right way, besides, this tax is not a tax for necessities, so it's alright to increase the tax as we have an option to gamble or not. Like a lottery, the revenue is used for government projects and we play the lottery although the chance is very slim (close to nothing), so it should not be a burden for us gamblers.

But, you need to realize that gamblers will most likely lose money to gambling more often than they win and if you are going to impose a high tax on their winning amounts, are you also going to reimburse them when they lose? I don't think any government policy does it. There is already a house edge player has to overcome to win and then the governments are adding extra pressure by imposing more tax so it would be better to ban gambling outright. This kind of torture doesn't set the tone right.

How about charge the casinos some massive amounts of tax? Because they make lot of money and they also have the edge against gamblers in all games so easier for them to pay than pressuring the gambler.

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[blockman]

True, I won't think that it's too much if they tax as we gamble since I was in my childhood days, there's already gambling and there's already taxation for everything unless you get a treatment that you'll be getting a tax free winning. Well, just forget about winning. It happens with small bets so the tax that's being imposed with that isn't that much but for those people that win a lot, they surely are feeling some regret if they're imposed with taxes. But that's normal, the taxes go to what it's needed to go and as long as you see that there's progress and development from what it's being used, that's totally fine.

I have seen a lot of people saying that taxes are being used for good purposes and therefore no one should stand against taxation. That may have been the case a few decades ago, but times have changed. Nowadays a majority of the expenses from the government can be termed as "wasteful". Especially in the case with left-wing governments, a large part of the tax revenue is nowadays used to reward the most unproductive sections of the population, in the form of child benefits and unemployment handouts. And meanwhile the tax rates have gone up gradually. In the US and EU, there are jurisdictions where the top marginal income tax is above 60%.

It really depends on the country and the governance where you're living at. You can appreciate those that are doing good and you see where your taxes go.
But be disappointed when you see that there's no progress and it's not what we're enthusiastically saying about where our taxes go. Not every government is good but there are those that maintaining to be at least good and showing where the taxes are going and it's for the good of everybody. Although some really doesn't go with the terms that we like, we have no choice but to just chose a better leadership within the next elections.

[Hippocrypto]

I was thinking that many countries are reluctant to legalise certain activities such as gambling, prostitution, smoking, ... and, apart from countries that have strong social and religious restrictions (I refer to those as the death-by-boredom countries) others simply consider than the state should not profit or allow activities that are considered diminishing for the workers or that may harm their health and personal relations (it must be difficult to be an addict to gambling or a prostitute and have a normal life).

However, other countries simply set high taxes to these activities, which I think is a false morality, as if by paying these activities can be less questionable. (Note: I personally do not question regulated gambling).

Regulations on gambling has very strict implementation, so we shouldn't question law makers about that certain situation. However, setting higher taxes can be appealed on them just to beg for consideration if an operational cost of a gambling business really put the over head cost into suffering. This should be reviewed, because if not there might be a possible cheating on gambling players in a casino and losers will increase everytime there's an event. This is really an intense situation which I think we didn't want to happen.

[Sithara007]

It really depends on the country and the governance where you're living at. You can appreciate those that are doing good and you see where your taxes go.
But be disappointed when you see that there's no progress and it's not what we're enthusiastically saying about where our taxes go. Not every government is good but there are those that maintaining to be at least good and showing where the taxes are going and it's for the good of everybody. Although some really doesn't go with the terms that we like, we have no choice but to just chose a better leadership within the next elections.

Agreed. For example, in the Scandinavian countries, the tax rates are quite high, but then the government provides a lot of services and therefore the tax payer is happy to pay the due taxes on time. But here in India, that is not the case. The highest slab for income tax is set at 43%, and the government actually limits most of the services to those who are not paying the income tax. India is one of those countries which discriminates those who pay the tax. Under such circumstances, the tax payer may not be very happy.

[Xinarae*]

Tax on gambling It usually depends on the country you live in the government usually levies a tax if the casino game is legal. Taxes go under the control of the government casinos are set up statewide to ensure dividends and duties from gambling there are countless such casinos around the world where everyone is addicted to gambling in many countries of the world there is a gambling business. The government borrows the most tax from casinos from other sites because it is a very lucrative business.

[Russlenat]

~snip~
The government borrows the most tax from casinos from other sites because it is a very lucrative business.

The government does not borrow taxes because that is their income, they can allocate that income to any government projects and expenditures. To make it simple, the only relationship between the casinos and the regulators is to monitor the casino and ensure that casinos pay the right taxes.

[suzanne5223]

-Snip-

I believe the underground deals were among the reason why the government increases the tax payment of casinos and the last time I checked we have some government officials who are also the customers of the casino so they understand everything about their activities. Therefore, it will be hard for the government to implement tax rates that will make them evacuate.

yeah right, they see that there are  government officials who are also patrons of those offshores casinos.

Underground deals are not new and with how the those who imposed the rules should act in favor of the government, applying additional taxes maybe hurting the business,

But there's something behind that will keep those owners to continue dealing and continue to operate, business as usual.

The revenue the government is getting from the casinos is helpful to the community and this is the reason why the Las Vegas mayor ask for the opening of the casino during the total lockdown so if the revenue is helping the government to raise funds, I don't see the government applying the additional taxes that will hurt the casino business.

[peter0425]

I was thinking that many countries are reluctant to legalise certain activities such as gambling, prostitution, smoking, ... and, apart from countries that have strong social and religious restrictions (I refer to those as the death-by-boredom countries) others simply consider than the state should not profit or allow activities that are considered diminishing for the workers or that may harm their health and personal relations (it must be difficult to be an addict to gambling or a prostitute and have a normal life).

However, other countries simply set high taxes to these activities, which I think is a false morality, as if by paying these activities can be less questionable. (Note: I personally do not question regulated gambling).

Taxes are based to how much Income the business is getting and also the bad effect to the community in which the government will surely suffer in time.

Like alcohol and smoking in which once the person got sick or in time of their retirement , it is the government will surely cover the medication once that person are not capable of spending because of the vices he took , and that called "SINTAX" in which the highest form of taxation .

[Zilon]

Yes. The rate tax government gave the casino owner is no something they can't handle and I'm sure the government understands how much they are making before increasing their tax rate and the level of revenue the government are getting through casino, I believe they will never do something that will make the casino business evacuate

yeah right, the government will take care of this as they know casino brings a good amount of taxes and implementing higher than this business can acquire might force them to evacuate and find other locations.

There's always basis in terms of placing or implementing taxes, sure deal that behind that we don't know what are the conditions, mostly happened with small time casinos.

Underground deals to make sure that the permits will  granted and the house will facilitate without any problems.

Taxes on gambling is been implemented equally not minding if it's really a big gambling company or small one both has a fixed tax the send to the government based on their agreement. If truely this government aren't trying to force them to evacuate then it should have been based on how much revenue the generate.

Many countries tries so hard to fight against gambling and many has tried shorting down gambling in their countries with diverse treat measures unleashed on this gambling companies with this are we still going to say the are sending a message of support or evacuation?

[JohnBitCo]

Instead of focusing on the taxing the gamblers, why not first focus to tax the gambling houses. I think that gambling houses are making much more profit and it will be beneficial for the government to tax them. They could generate a lot more amount of money, if they put tax on gambling houses and physical casinos. Once this is implemented in true spirit, then we can think on how can we tax the individual gambler.

[fortunecrypto]

Many countries including my own are taxing services and products that they think are luxury items, this is to limit people from using and patronizing the products and services, that includes cigarettes, liquors, and services being offered by casinos, so poor or average income, people will not use or patronage these products and services, casinos are heavily taxed because they only want rich people to go there and because they can bear the high taxation because their players and clients are rich people.

[bitterguy28]

Instead of focusing on the taxing the gamblers, why not first focus to tax the gambling houses. I think that gambling houses are making much more profit and it will be beneficial for the government to tax them. They could generate a lot more amount of money, if they put tax on gambling houses and physical casinos. Once this is implemented in true spirit, then we can think on how can we tax the individual gambler.

but the problem in taxing the houses is that the idea that the house/owners will also put that amount to the gamblers as they have the power to do that , so in the end it is the gamblers will still suffer so let the gamblers pays their taxes as small token that being charged by the gambling site much more than required.

Many countries including my own are taxing services and products that they think are luxury items, this is to limit people from using and patronizing the products and services, that includes cigarettes, liquors, and services being offered by casinos, so poor or average income, people will not use or patronage these products and services, casinos are heavily taxed because they only want rich people to go there and because they can bear the high taxation because their players and clients are rich people.

is it called Sin Tax right? together with salty foods and vices .

[Kasabus]

Many countries including my own are taxing services and products that they think are luxury items, this is to limit people from using and patronizing the products and services, that includes cigarettes, liquors, and services being offered by casinos, so poor or average income, people will not use or patronage these products and services, casinos are heavily taxed because they only want rich people to go there and because they can bear the high taxation because their players and clients are rich people.

is it called Sin Tax right? together with salty foods and vices .

I think that applies to products only, but for gambling which belongs to entertainment, that is not considered as sin tax.

Yes, the tax is still high as casinos are very profitable,  but most regulators are focus on taxing the casinos themselves than the gamblers who are risking their money which we know they will still lose in the long run. When we say entertainment, people who go to the casino are just having fun, so they'll spend, you can't tax people from spending money as tax usually is charged to income.

[Silberman]

Every increase in taxation is really good for a country as long as it will serve the right purpose. It's a valid point that government will rely on their source of revenue for those industries that are not affected during the pandemic and one of those is gambling.

As long as the added percentage given is reasonable, gambling owners will fairly accept it without a problem.

Exactly, if it goes in the right direction then I wouldn't mind having a big tax imposed on me, just look at some of the successful and 1st class economy in Europe, they make free healthcare and colleges hell some even pay students to attend college because they have high taxes and people sees the taxes being used the right way.

But that is only possible with a government with low levels of corruption, in that case since people are receiving a very direct benefit then the high taxes could be justified some way, even if just by ideology I do not really like the idea, however in the majority of countries there is a huge level of corruption which means that most of the taxes that you pay are going instead to the bank accounts of corrupt politicians which is why in such countries many people make the effort to avoid paying those taxes.

[blockman]

It really depends on the country and the governance where you're living at. You can appreciate those that are doing good and you see where your taxes go.
But be disappointed when you see that there's no progress and it's not what we're enthusiastically saying about where our taxes go. Not every government is good but there are those that maintaining to be at least good and showing where the taxes are going and it's for the good of everybody. Although some really doesn't go with the terms that we like, we have no choice but to just chose a better leadership within the next elections.

Agreed. For example, in the Scandinavian countries, the tax rates are quite high, but then the government provides a lot of services and therefore the tax payer is happy to pay the due taxes on time. But here in India, that is not the case. The highest slab for income tax is set at 43%, and the government actually limits most of the services to those who are not paying the income tax. India is one of those countries which discriminates those who pay the tax. Under such circumstances, the tax payer may not be very happy.

Well, if I'm in that type of country, I wouldn't feel bad if the taxes are high since you can actually see where your taxes go. That's why some people don't really mind paying taxes as it's already permanent and as long as you're enjoying the perks and you're actually one of the beneficiaries where the taxes are going, you're all good with it. But too bad that not all governments are not like what you've example. There are high taxes but there's no sign where all of those taxes are going and that's why people who feel bad with it, doesn't really care at all.

[mv1986]

However, other countries simply set high taxes to these activities, which I think is a false morality, as if by paying these activities can be less questionable. (Note: I personally do not question regulated gambling).

The "sin tax" is a pretty common way to profit from behavior you would like to curb as a government.  I actually think it's a good way to handle the situation.  Rather than force your citizens to do thinks "underground" and risk their safety engaging in business with possibly unscrupulous characters, they just have to pay insane taxes.  This also probably helps the losers a bit, as they can at least get a decent tax break for a run of bad luck.  In the US, some states have some pretty crazy sin taxes on alcohol and tobacco that make it difficult for some people to engage in those activities.

But isn't there a harmful equilibrium between insanely high taxation and prohibition? I am sure there is!

From my own view, there's no harmful equilibrium between high taxation and prohibition. If there's the organization that operates the business will have quit and the last time I checked they are making huge money through the business.

Let's assume you are broke and you want to do something the government would like you to rather not to. So the government raises insane taxes, the taxes at some point cause you to behave the same way as a prohibition would cause you to behave.

Well, the government usually set up a fair tax for the startup or new business since the business will create more job opportunity and we shouldn't compare gambling, narcotics, and alcohol tax because the owner is making huge money from it.

I guess there is an equilibrium as or a quasi equilibrium, affecting an increasing number of people with rising taxes. Of course, billionaires will never care. They would pay a 99% tax just for the lolz depending on the amounts they are gambling, unless they put existential money on the line but that is hard to imagine for a billionaire.
For the average person, a tax rising towards 100% will affect more and more people the same way a prohibition would affect them, entailing the same courses of action for both the high tax and the prohibition scenario.

Regarding your second point, I am not sure I understand. All three involve a lot of money. Gambling, narcotics and alcohol are massive industries although I would say that gambling produces less jobs than the alcohol industry.

I also support that increase in tax will 100% affect the average person but most tax supplements only focus on the wealthy people which you also confirmed they also don't bother much about it the tax since it is just another of them giving back to the community.
Regarding the second point, what I said is that all the mention industries make a huge amount of money and the government totally understands what they are doing when they increase their tax rate.

[/quote]

I think it is quite the euphemism to say that rich consider high tax a way to give back. Some may think that way but certainly not all. I rather think that if a billionaire goes into a casino and gambles with 100,000 USD, he doesn't really care whether he can keep 50k or 75k when he manages to double his money. That is very different for people who play with money that is of existential relevance, like many poker players who usually live in places where the tax on poker winnings is zero.

[michellee]

Many countries including my own are taxing services and products that they think are luxury items, this is to limit people from using and patronizing the products and services, that includes cigarettes, liquors, and services being offered by casinos, so poor or average income, people will not use or patronage these products and services, casinos are heavily taxed because they only want rich people to go there and because they can bear the high taxation because their players and clients are rich people.

I think that can prevent middle and low people class from visiting the casino branded to playing gambling because they can not pay the tax or the tickets to enter the casino. But those people can still play gambling on the other casinos with low specifications for people who want to gamble. Besides that, those casinos do not need them to pay anything because as long as those people have money to gamble, they will be allowed to visit the casino anytime they want.

[Reatim]

Many countries including my own are taxing services and products that they think are luxury items, this is to limit people from using and patronizing the products and services, that includes cigarettes, liquors, and services being offered by casinos, so poor or average income, people will not use or patronage these products and services, casinos are heavily taxed because they only want rich people to go there and because they can bear the high taxation because their players and clients are rich people.

I think that can prevent middle and low people class from visiting the casino branded to playing gambling because they can not pay the tax or the tickets to enter the casino. But those people can still play gambling on the other casinos with low specifications for people who want to gamble. Besides that, those casinos do not need them to pay anything because as long as those people have money to gamble, they will be allowed to visit the casino anytime they want.

gamblers will always find ways to play mate , if there are no other option in place where they in? even with those tickets or taxes? they will surely play , will find other amount to play.
like me i live in place where only 2 casinos are available , so if they will be putting more taxes or even tickets ? then i will surely comply and play as i have no options,

[Russlenat]

Many countries including my own are taxing services and products that they think are luxury items, this is to limit people from using and patronizing the products and services, that includes cigarettes, liquors, and services being offered by casinos, so poor or average income, people will not use or patronage these products and services, casinos are heavily taxed because they only want rich people to go there and because they can bear the high taxation because their players and clients are rich people.

I think that can prevent middle and low people class from visiting the casino branded to playing gambling because they can not pay the tax or the tickets to enter the casino. But those people can still play gambling on the other casinos with low specifications for people who want to gamble. Besides that, those casinos do not need them to pay anything because as long as those people have money to gamble, they will be allowed to visit the casino anytime they want.

gamblers will always find ways to play mate , if there are no other option in place where they in? even with those tickets or taxes? they will surely play , will find other amount to play.
like me i live in place where only 2 casinos are available , so if they will be putting more taxes or even tickets ? then i will surely comply and play as i have no options,

I would not play if there's too much tax on gambling and even the gamblers have to pay the tax, I think with that kind of law, we already loss money even before we gamble and for me, gambling is not anymore fun. In the Philippines, there are no taxes in gambling for bettors, but the operators has to pay high taxes especially those offshore gaming casinos.

[mv1986]

Many countries including my own are taxing services and products that they think are luxury items, this is to limit people from using and patronizing the products and services, that includes cigarettes, liquors, and services being offered by casinos, so poor or average income, people will not use or patronage these products and services, casinos are heavily taxed because they only want rich people to go there and because they can bear the high taxation because their players and clients are rich people.

I think that can prevent middle and low people class from visiting the casino branded to playing gambling because they can not pay the tax or the tickets to enter the casino. But those people can still play gambling on the other casinos with low specifications for people who want to gamble. Besides that, those casinos do not need them to pay anything because as long as those people have money to gamble, they will be allowed to visit the casino anytime they want.

gamblers will always find ways to play mate , if there are no other option in place where they in? even with those tickets or taxes? they will surely play , will find other amount to play.
like me i live in place where only 2 casinos are available , so if they will be putting more taxes or even tickets ? then i will surely comply and play as i have no options,

I would not play if there's too much tax on gambling and even the gamblers have to pay the tax, I think with that kind of law, we already loss money even before we gamble and for me, gambling is not anymore fun. In the Philippines, there are no taxes in gambling for bettors, but the operators has to pay high taxes especially those offshore gaming casinos.

Well, your case shows that the first question must be what the message by setting a tax is supposed to be? If it is meant to be a sin tax and it stops you from gambling, the tax obviously send the right message in the sense that it fulfills the desired outcome by the government. It does definitely depend on the amount of taxes the government raises, but I think that double digits will definitely decrease the number of gamblers significantly.