Now that the government has passed its latest tax amendments - which, among other things, raises the basic VAT rate to an eye-watering 25% – you may be wondering where else they will be looking for revenue. Here’s one place: your local poker table. According to sports daily Nemzeti Sport, Several Socialist MPs have submitted a proposal to allow private individuals to host poker clubs from 2010, with a tax of “no more” than 5% levied on the total stake.
The MPs believe proposal would represent an opportunity for the government to collect tax revenue from the estimated tens of thousands of illegal card clubs currently in operation throughout Hungary, rather than just licensed casinos.
But this being Hungary, the proposal naturally is filled with more twists and turns than a hand of crazy pineapple. The law would require a minimum of five tables and a maximum of ten with a maximum buy-in of Ft 25,000 for cash games and Ft 20,000 for tournaments. Meanwhile, the government rake would put into a so-called “bank of chances” (esélyek bankja) which would fund education programs and help low-income households pay their utility bills.
As for the likely reaction of the proprietors of these underground clubs to the prospect of having to abide by these rules, we’d say the most common play would be just like in the rest of the economy: calling the government’s bluff.