Are you stopping yourself from playing online slots for real money because you’re not sure about the taxes? Read our take on WildTornado.Casino to get answers.
Do You Have to Pay Taxes on Slot Machine Winnings in New Zealand?
Pretty much everything you do in any given country, there’s an element of tax that you need to pay the government. Value Added Tax (VAT) is usually the most common form of tax that we deal with on a day-to-day basis. Then, there is income tax based on your earnings. When you play online casino NZ games and generate winnings, that’s a form of earnings as well. So, when you ask the question of whether you have to pay taxes for online gambling or not, it’s as valid as it gets. In this post, we’re going to take a look at the taxation laws in New Zealand to clear the air once and for all. Once you’re done with the reading, you’ll know exactly whether you have to pay taxes or not. And if you do have to, how much.
Tax Laws in New Zealand
The “income tax” laws in New Zealand are pretty straightforward. It starts at a mere 10.5% for people who earn up to NZD 14,000 a year. The next tax bracket is 17.5% for people who earn between NZD 14,0001 and NZD 48,000. If your income is between NZD 48,001 and NZD 70,000, you pay 30% of that to the government. From NZD 70,001 all the way up to NZD 180,000 is capped at a 33% tax rate. And you pay the top tax of 39% of your yearly income of over NZD 180,000. As you can see, the brackets are fairly easily defined. As long as you have to pay stubs, there should be no issues with your taxes. However, the question was not regarding regular income taxes. Rather, it was about taxes on gambling winnings. Or, to be precise, whether you have to pay taxes for casino
slots online for real money in the country. To get into that, we first have to take a look at the legal situation of the online gambling scene in New Zealand.
The legality of Online Slots for Real Money in NZ
To be precise, we’re not only taking the legality of the real money slots online into consideration. Rather, we’re going for the whole online casino for real money industry at once. According to Gambling Act 2003, gambling in the country is “illegal unless it is authorized by or under the Gambling Act“. It surely raises a few questions in your mind regarding the legality of your favorite games. Well, there’s nothing to worry about for you just yet. New Zealand doesn’t have any licensing authorities in the country, making it “de facto illegal”. So, it’s only normal that the government will ban online gambling from companies that are based inside the country. However, there are no restrictions when you play online slots at WildTornado.Casino or any other offshore casino site. “Offshore” means the headquarters of the company is based elsewhere than where the operations are being conducted. As the casino in question, Wild Tornado is accepting players from New Zealand as well as offering New Zealand dollars as a valid currency, it has operations in NZ. However, the operator of the casino, Dama N.V. is based in Curacao and is licensed by Antillephone N.V. So, WildTornado casino is a classic example of an offshore brand. The operations of the casino comply with the Gambling Act 2003 and so there’s no legal dilemma stopping you from signing up on that brand. As you keep playing after making real money deposits, you can expect to win some substantial amounts if lady luck decides to side with you. Now, the question is, do you pay taxes on your gambling winnings in New Zealand? The answer is a simple no.
No Taxes on Online Slots NZ or Other Games
Although thousands of players participate in real money gambling every single day, the government has decided to waive all taxes on the winnings you generate from the casino online games, whether it’s online slots, table games, or live dealer games. However, there’s only one game that you need to pay taxes for. It’s a unique clause in the Gambling Act 2003. That game is online poker. Poker is often considered a game of skill rather than a game of chance because your decisions in a round have lots of implications. You can bluff the other players to make them fold and win even with a weak hand. For this very reason, many other countries don’t consider poker as a pure “gambling” game. If you’re feeling worried because you’re a passionate poker player and thinking that the Inland Revenue might come for you, don’t bother. IRD has no way of tracking your winnings as all the brands offering the game are offshore in the first place. The only time you need to report your winnings is if you’re a “professional” poker player and use the game as a source of bread and butter. To be classified as a professional player, the majority of your total income in a month has to come from poker winnings. If you let it go unreported for long enough, it might tick off the IRD and make them investigate your case. All in all, New Zealand is a very player-friendly jurisdiction when it comes to online gambling. While other countries like the US are charging upwards of 34% in taxes from the players, letting them keep all the winnings is a baller move from the NZ government.
Enjoy the Best of Real Money Online Slots with WildTornado.Casino
Among all the offshore brands that operate in NZ, Wild Tornado Casino is the best in our opinion. You get over 6,000 games to choose from where the majority of the titles are slots for real money. These games come from
Microgaming, NetEnt, Playtech, Play’n Go, Yggdrasil, and lots of other reputed providers. As for your real money transactions, you’re free to use regular methods like your credit cards, debit cards, e-wallets, as well as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and so on.
Final Words
Casino gambling is one of the most fun activities you can partake in if the cards are played right. Many players don’t think about the taxes but it can really surprise you in the end. Thankfully, there are no taxes on gambling winnings in New Zealand.