Malta MEP says Nationalist Party government would veto EU online gaming tax
Any EU-level online gaming tax would be vetoed without hesitation by a Maltese government led by the Nationalist Party (PN), stated David Casa, Member of European Parliament (MEP) and head of the PN Delegation, while addressing a plenary session in the European Parliament.
Casa said this while addressing the plenary during a debate about a proposal which would create an EU tax on online gaming.
Background on the proposal
A harmonised European levy on the online gambling industry is the crux of what Casa has expressed strong opposition towards.
One of the proponents of the EU-level tax is Victor Negrescu, a Romanian MEP, Vice President of the European Parliament, and member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. Casa and Negrescu addressed each other during the plenary debate on Wednesday.
In a parliamentary question which was raised to the EU Commission, it was put forward that, based on data from parliamentary research services, a levy on online gaming could potentially enable the EU to collect between €2 billion and €4 billion each year.
Casa’s comments: a PN government in Malta would veto such a tax
As he began his address, Casa remarked that the proposal to enact a levy on online gaming at the EU level was among the worst ideas he had ever heard.
He described it as “a tax that will prejudice licensed EU companies,” and continued that it would put such companies at a competitive disadvantage, while also “pushing them towards third countries”.
Casa added that, if such a tax were to be enacted, it would also lead consumers towards illegal operators from outside of the European Union. He commented that these operators “function with impunity, do not pay tax, and do not offer even the most basic of consumer safeguards”.
The PN MEP stated that the gaming sector contributes to over 10 per cent of Malta’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He continued that the sector aligns with robust standards and consumer protection requirements and also creates high-quality employment opportunities.
With that in mind, Casa remarked that there is no other EU member state “as exposed as Malta” in this regard. “Therefore, we would suffer the most from misguided policies that would impact this sector and push business away from the EU.”
Casa referred to the proposal as a “non-starter”. He added that, while he cannot speak for the present Labour Party (PL) government in Malta, as the PL forms part of the socialist alliance in the European Parliament, “A prospective Nationalist Party government is prepared to stop this proposal even through the use of a veto.”
He said that he spoke with industry members in Malta, who, according to Casa, have deemed the proposal “madness”. The MEP commented that while the gaming sector may not be as important to other countries, it stands as one of Malta’s most important sectors.
“We will not let anyone dictate something that is our sole competence,” Casa concluded.
Maltese general election
Malta’s next general election is set to take place on 30 May. Among other things set out by the current government ahead of the election, it has also indicated that there are ambitions of setting a precedent in prediction market regulation across Europe.
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