Government wants to levy higher tax on gambling

The government is planning to levy a higher tax on gambling, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura told Czech Television. The government is looking to boost revenues and improve the state of public finances and is considering a number of tax hikes. According to Stanjura  the government aims to reduce next year’s budget deficit by CZK 70 billion, of which two-thirds would be by cutting expenditures and  one-third by increasing revenues. Presently the state collects around nine billion crowns annually from gambling. The VAT on spirits is also expected to go up.