Swedes Want Taxes from Online Gambling

February 10, 2008

It seems that the people of Sweden have been evading their taxes when it comes to online gambling. They say that there are online gambling players and marketing affiliates that have be evading their taxes and now they want their money. They say that the amount of money out there could get as high as Euro 45 million.

The Skatteverket or Swedish Tax Authorities are working with the Swedish Gaming Board and the National Economic Crimes Bureau to crack down on online gambling and are asking for those major online gambling companies to provide them with records of their winners. They were thought to be looking into the online casinos initially, but now their request has spread to the players and affiliates as well.

They must be in and operating from Swedish soil, and when identified they are looking at tax rates as high as 57%. They will also be facing various penalties for not reporting their online gambling winnings earlier and attempting to circumvent the system. They say that they are looking at millions of dollars in outstanding taxes just from the players and affiliates.

Last year the Skatteverket had already announced that Multipoker.com owed SEK40 million, or Euro 4.3 million in unpaid taxes. Experts say that soon no one will be immune to the inquiries and that those that have not paid their taxes should get some professional assistance as to how to proceed from here.

Given all the troubles that the government has of its own because of the monopolistic nature of their online gambling, it is a wonder that they have time to prosecute everyone in their own country for not paying their bills.





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