In Armenia, gambling organizers will be required to pay a 10% income tax to the state budget for winnings exceeding 5 million drams.
The draft laws on the regulation of gambling activities and related laws were presented for discussion at the second reading of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia Economic Affairs Committee meeting by the Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan.
The proposal suggests establishing a 10% income tax on winnings over 5 million drams. The SRC Chairman reminded that the gambling sector is already regulated and falls within the appropriate tax field. "This project regulates the taxation of winnings, which are currently considered deductible income under the Tax Code and are not taxed," he said.
The proposal also includes that the game organizer withholds income tax from the winnings and transfers it to the state budget. As for all other winnings, an annual calculation methodology will be applied.
"That is, if there is a positive difference between all bets made during the year and the winnings received, we propose that individuals reflect this positive difference in their annual declaration and pay a 5% income tax to the state budget," Badasyan noted.
Babken Tunyan, MP, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs of the NA, added that large winnings would be subject to a 10% income tax, with the respective company acting as the tax agent.
"And small winnings received throughout the year, after the relevant authority calculates the net winnings, will be taxed at a rate of 5%. The citizen will pay it when filing the income declaration," he said. Other changes will also come into effect before the proposed regulation.
The project received a positive review and will be discussed at a NA plenary session.
