Series of articles from “The Practice of Gambling” by Anchidim Zagrean, Rombet Vice-President
2018 starts with a series of practical compliance obligations for gambling organizers, as a result of current legal provisions, as well as with a working agenda that is announced to be rich in implementing projects of legal provisions of the national regulatory, supervisory and control body.
From the first category, regarding the practical obligations arising from the legislative amendments with effect in 2018, we recall, in a synthetic presentation:
1. Establishing, according to the legal criteria regarding the performed activity, the type of tax to be paid, in compliance with the declaratory obligations provided by the law:
a) Tax on the income of micro-enterprises in the 1% quota (gambling organizers have employees), provided that at 31.12.2017 they have achieved incomes that have not exceeded the equivalent in lei of one million euros, at the exchange rate valid at the end of the financial exercise;
b) Profit tax, if it does not meet the above criteria, in the 16% quota, and for the casinos, the profit tax cannot be less than 5% applied to these recorded revenues;
c) Specific tax on the activities provided by Law 170 of 2016, provided that it does not fall under the tax on income of micro enterprises, which prevails over the specific tax.
2. Practical measures to implement the provisions on the reform of public social systems in Romania, to empower employers to pay in due time the mandatory social contributions owed by them as well as by employees.
For this purpose, the employer will establish, retain, declare and pay the obligations owed by the employees as well;
Level of contributions due and income tax, starting in 2018:
Employee
– the social insurance contribution, due to the social insurance state budget – 25%;
– the contribution of social health insurance, due to the budget of the National Health Insurance Fund – 10%.
Employer
– the insurance contribution for work, due to the state budget – 2,25%.
Taxation rate
– The tax rate is 10% and applies to the taxable income corresponding to each source in each category for determining the tax.
3. Payment obligations for suppliers applying the split VAT payment in two separate accounts of the goods or services as well as the VAT related thereto, as required by Law 275 of 2017, approving GO 23 of 2017.
From the second category, with obligations for the organizers of gambling, which will result from the ONJN projects, the following can be briefly mentioned:
1. Implementation of the legal provisions on the establishment of the public interest foundation, which members of the Consultative Council attached to the ONJN will be members of, whose main objective will be to comply with measures regarding socially responsible gambling and the establishment of the “ prevention of gambling addiction “available to ONJN, to which will be obliged to contribute all licensed gambling organizers with the following annual contributions:
– distance gambling organizers first class licensees – € 5,000 per year;
- legal entities directly involved in traditional and distance gambling in the second class – 1,000 euros per year;
– games at a distance –state monopoly Class III 5,000 euros annually;
- Traditional licensed gambling organizers – 1,000 euros per year.
2. Regulation of the way of advertising activities for gambling authorized on national territory, observing the following principles:
– protecting minors and preventing their access to these types of gambling;
– ensure the integrity and transparency of the operations carried out by and through the organizers of gambling as well as a fair, constantly supervised and constantly controlled gaming system in terms of security and fairness of the activities carried out;
– preventing and combating criminal activities that can be carried out through these types of gambling;
– ensuring a balanced and fair development of different types of gambling, in order to avoid destabilizing the economic sectors concerned;
– implement a continuous process of updating the regulations in this area of activity in order to diminish and limit some possible vulnerabilities of this economic sector to potential criminal activities as well as to reduce the exposure to the risk of money laundering and financing of acts terrorism, tax fraud, cyber crime, and the prevention of offenses related to public order, national security and public health;
– Develop and implement a program to protect gamblers against gambling addiction.
3. Implementation of an electronic communication system by electronic means of remote transmission for the purpose of communication of documents issued by the institution or the submission of applications, of application/ demands or any other documents by the solicitants.
We will return with other opinions in the next issue of the magazine…
