- The FG Münster has ruled that there is no mandatory tax exemption for turnover from gambling with money stakes.
- The applicant argues that their gambling machines in arcades are exempt from VAT under Art. 135(1)(i) of the VAT Directive.
- The BFH has rejected the applicant’s request for a stay of execution and the Federal Constitutional Court has not yet decided on the constitutional complaint against the BFH decision.
- According to national law, the disputed VAT is not exempt as the applicant’s turnover from operating the gambling machines does not fall under the Racing Betting and Lottery Act.
- There is no unequal treatment compared to public casinos as they are also subject to VAT since May 6, 2006.
- The principle of tax neutrality does not require the applicant’s turnover to be tax-exempt like that of providers of virtual slot games.
- Referring to the pending preliminary rulings in Belgium is not necessary as the focus should be on whether the German regulations are compliant with EU law.
- The decisions on the applicant’s objections to the VAT assessments and the constitutional complaint are still pending.
Source: haufe.de
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
