OREANDA-NEWS. July 31, 2008. Potential investors and experts of the Southern Federal District gambling market suggest reducing the rate of the gambling tax for Azov-City gambling zone residents fivefold. Nikolay Oganezov, Director of the Gaming Business Association in the Southern Federal District, informed about it.

At present the authorities of the Rostov and Krasnodar regions on the border of which the zone is created only decided to cancel the corporate property tax, but they declare the readiness for further dialogue with businessmen.

“Obviously property tax cancellation is not enough. In principle, investors raise a question on cancellation of the gambling business tax, which is the most costly. As of today the maximum rate in the Rostov and Krasnodar regions is 7.5 thousand rubles per gambling machine and 125 thousand rubles per gambling table per month”, - said N. Oganezov.

According to him, it is a huge amount for a gambling zone where the prospect of attraction of clients is not clear yet. “ If we speak about the minimum costs - a gambling-machine parlor with not less than 50 gambling machines, and a casino with not less than 10 tables – almost 100 thousand dollars per month will be spent on this tax payment”, - he emphasized.

N. Oganezov is confident, that the tax rate in the first years of the gambling zone operation should be minimal – 1.5 thousand rubles per gambling machine and 25 thousand rubles per gambling table”. “The tax should be minimal in any case, until the gambling zone is developed: clearly, that there will be only expenses at the initial stage”, - he explained.