Milton Friedman Institute challenges planned gaming-machine tax increase
Regulation1 min read
The Milton Friedman Institute argued that the planned increase in Preu on slots and VLTs would favour other legal gambling segments and illegal gambling. Executive director Alessandro Bertoldi said the measure could force slot halls to close, reduce employment and weaken the state’s expected tax revenue.
Alessandro Bertoldi, executive director of the Milton Friedman Institute, said the budget provides for a tax increase exclusively on gaming machines, including slots and VLTs, thereby benefiting other segments of the legal gambling market and illegal gambling. The other legal segments would be unaffected by the increase and are already taxed at a lower rate.
Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has argued that the budget’s gambling tax increase would prevent the sector from expanding, a claim Bertoldi disputed.
Bertoldi warned that many slot halls would be forced to close, costing tens of thousands of jobs, citing earlier warnings from industry operators. Players would turn to other forms of gambling, including illegal offerings, and the state would miss out on the expected additional revenue and risk losing existing revenue.