India gives partial relief on tax to online gaming firms


FILE PHOTO: Keyboard, cards, chips, dice are seen in this illustration picture, June 5, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India has decided to levy taxes on online gaming companies on the total funds deposited to play online games and not on every bet, federal Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday, offering some relief to the industry.

Last month, India decided to impose a 28% tax on funds that online gaming companies collect from their customers for every bet, shocking the nascent $1.5 billion industry which is backed by global investors.

More than 100 gaming companies and top investors like Top Tiger Global and Peak XV, previously known as Sequoia Capital India, wrote to government asking it to reconsider the decision.

The decision was taken by the Goods and Services Tax Council, made up of finance ministers from all Indian states and chaired by Sitharaman.

Sitharaman said the government aims to impose the tax from Oct. 1 and a review of the decision would be undertaken in the next six months.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Jan Harvey, Kirsten Donovan)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

   

Next In Tech News

Sirius XM found liable in New York lawsuit over subscription cancellations
US Supreme Court tosses case involving securities fraud suit against Facebook
Amazon doubles down on AI startup Anthropic with $4 billion investment
Factbox-Who are bankrupt Northvolt's creditors?
UK should use new powers to probe Apple-Google mobile browser duopoly, report says
EU regulators scrap probe into Apple's e-book rules after complaint was withdrawn
Hyundai recalls over 145,000 electrified US vehicles on loss of drive power
'World of Warcraft' still going strong as it celebrates 20 years
Northvolt CEO steps down, saying group needs up to $1.2 billion
Bitcoin at record highs, sets sights on $100,000

Others Also Read