Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAN 2021年1月 亞博匯 82 edge for the house. If they overtax in this way, the market won’t be appealing and Japanese people will just travel to overseas casinos. This is especially true for high-rollers. In the end it will lower the services provided to customers overall.” TAXATION ON HIGH DIVIDENDS IS UNAVOIDABLE “If there is to be taxation on the winnings of Japanese guests, it will probably only be on high dividends,” Rocky suggests. “For example, in Las Vegas, slot machine winnings exceeding US$1,200, and table game winnings exceeding US$5,000, are taxed (at a flat rate of 24%). It would be better if Japan adopted something similar.” It’s not hard to find examples of similar systems. I recall getting quite lucky one day while attending the horse races run by the Korean Racing Association (KRA). According to KRA rules, as a foreigner I was subject to tax on these winnings so what I ended up taking home was less than I expected, but the hospitality and atmosphere were great so I didn’t mind too much. The KRA staff assured me that the taxes I paid would be used for welfare and education, which I found to be acceptable. COULD THE IR TAX SYSTEM BE BASED ON JAPAN’S EXISTING PUBLIC GAMBLING SYSTEMS? Japan has complicated rules around taxation of winnings on domestic public gambling such as horse racing, keirin, boat racing and auto racing. According to the local “Refund System” (i.e. winnings), whether or not refunds on horse racing tickets fall under occasional income or miscellaneous income has been shaped by a number of lawsuits regarding horse race bets. As per the National Tax Administration Agency, the local “Refund System” is divided into miscellaneous income and occasional income, and this categorization is decided on considerations such as period of time, number of times, frequency and scale of profit. The decision to exempt foreign guests shows that authorities are keeping a close eye on international standards. 豁免外國客人的決定表明，相關部門正在密切關注國際標準。 JAPAN