Effective as of 22/11/2013, the Greek government has imposed a brand new tax regime on all Greek accounts found on online poker sites pokerstars.gr and fulltiltpoker.gr.
Any intelligent man or woman who has at least occasionally played (online) poker quickly realizes just how absurd and unrealistic this type of taxation is.
Namely, according to PokerStars.gr:
"Based on the Greek gaming law, we must withhold PWT from profits in excess of €100 earned by you from gaming transactions in a player gaming session*. Your profits from a gaming session are
- For ring/cash games: winnings less bets placed in the gaming session (excluding any amounts where you are still at the table at the end of the gaming session); and
- For Tournaments and Sit & Go: prizes won in the gaming session, less buy-ins paid during the gaming session.
The rates of tax are as follows:
- No tax will be withheld for profits up to and including €100
- 15% tax for profits from €100.01 to €500
- 20% tax on profits over €500
Profits from gameplay in other currencies will be converted to Euros using applicable daily exchange rates.
*Based on our central IT system a gaming session for the purpose of withholding tax law is the 24 hour period from 7 A.M Greek time until 7 A.M. the following day."
This is a world first, unheard of and naturally unsustainable by the vast majority of players, be it regulars or not. When closely observing the regime and its daily taxation aspect, it is easy to see that even losing players will be regularly taxed and winning players will struggle to break even. There is a respectable number of people globally who rely on this industry to make ends meet, with Greece making no exception. And as this is a game that ultimately has really slim profit margins, it is therefore unfair to have such heavy, irrational taxation as an added 'occupational hazard', so to speak.
Choose to sign the petition out of compassion to your fellow poker player or plainly fellow human if you've come from afar the world of poker. Things are pretty tight in Greece as it is, so please, kindly show us some love. Even more importantly, do it in defence of (online) poker as a whole, as it has been struck with might tonight and may never trully recover.
As Hesiod once eloqeuntly put it "Well begun is half done". Meaning such policies may easily expand over more and more countries. Simply put, premonitions of yet more Black Fridays to come, targeted at who knows who, fingers crossed..
For whatever reasons you choose to sign, your help is truly greatly appreciated! I speak, at the least, on behalf of the entire Greek poker community when I whole-heartedly say THANK YOU.
