Uganda proposes tax onus on player winnings

The Ugandan Government has proposed splitting gaming and pool betting tax on winnings on a cost-share basis with players and operators.

Included in Uganda’s Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017, the proposal aims to restructure the current punitive 35 percent “withholding tax on winnings” burden placed solely on operators to a cost-sharing model between operators and players.

State minister for planning, David Bahati, told the Parliament’s Finance committee that an individual who wins a lottery or bet will pay 15 percent withholding tax from his earnings, while the owner of the machine or gambling centre will pay the remaining gaming tax of 20 percent.

“What we have discovered is that the 35 percent tax, which is currently the highest in the whole world, was becoming problematic to implement. That’s why we are saying that, since gaming and gambling is a zero-sum game, let each one of them bear the burden of tax. That’s the rationale of spreading it,” Bahati said.

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