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A tax official told the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that they had selected names from the winners’ lists in online and land gambling media and websites and sent them letters informing them that they owed taxes in respect of gambling wins.
Judging by message board and other player comments, it appears that several dozen Finnish players received the letters, asking them for a declaration of winnings collected over the past five years.
Top officials in the Finnish tax administration told Helsingin Sanomat that the request applies to winnings earned outside the European Economic Area, Raimo Kinnunen and Taneli Lallukka.
Mikko Hirvonen, the chairman of the Finnish Poker Players’ Association, says that the vagueness of the request and the short timetable put forward have triggered comment. Many players received the letter on Monday last week, and the deadline for a reply is mid-August.
There is confusion over whether it is sufficient for tax-free status that the organizer of a poker tournament is registered in a European Economic Area, or if the application for the tournament license also has to emanate from within the EEA. Lallukka says that the matter is open to interpretation, as there are no legal precedents. At present, the deciding factor is where the organizer of the game is registered.
Confusion also reigns over whether gamblers can deduct losses for tax purposes, and here Lallukka told the newspaper that a full-time player can deduct only those losses incurred in games played outside the EEA from winnings earned outside the EEA. Recreational players can deduct participation fees they may have paid.
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