The tax puts pressure on players poker - May 30, 2011
A regular player of poker, whether online or at competitions, he must declare his earnings in taxes? For tax officials, the answer is yes. Especially if it draws most of its revenue. "Even if the amounts are variable, since the gains are regular, it is a professional income subject to the payment of income tax," said an officer in the columns of Le Parisien on Sunday.
Since the legalization of online gambling in France, the number of poker has exploded. They are nearly three million followers. But the IRS is more specifically the big players, they believe capable of winning hundreds of thousands of dollars over the year. The latter could then see their earnings taxed at 40%. Players who would venture on illegal sites should have to pay penalties.According to an industry professional, yet only a few hundred players in France are concerned low rates payday advance.
"The administration is bluffing"
While the controversy swelled, some lawyers try to calm the game "The administration is bluffing by some interpretation of tax legislation, including that concerning the management of revenues, says the daily tax lawyer Eric Haber. According to him, the case law is for poker players because it reaffirms that it is a game of chance and that the sums received are tax exempt.
Aware of this legal aspect, the IRS would try now bargaining with the players concerned: they are choosing to pay a tax, they are engaging with the administration in a long legal process.
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