EU Commission probes German casinos’ tax treatment
The European Commission has opened an investigation into special tax rules that apply to German casino operators, it said on Monday, after receiving complaints from competitors arguing that these constitute an unfair benefit.
German public casino operators do not have to pay regular taxes such as corporate, income and trade taxes, but are instead subject to a special tax regime, according to the commission.
It said it has received “several complaints” from companies in the gambling sector relating to aspects of this special tax regime, as well as an alleged guarantee ensuring that public casino operators remain profitable.
The investigation aims at clarifying whether public casinos are receiving an unjustified economic advantage, the commission added.
It acts as the EU competition watchdog.
In a separate inquiry, the commission will also follow up on complaints relating to public casino operators in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia, it said.
According to the complaints, the casino operators in question benefited from annual loss compensation payments as well as a capital injection in 2015 by the state of North Rhine Westphalia, giving them an undue advantage.