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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-01-12
CONTENTS
[01] OPAP asks high court to cancel new gambling levy
[02] Less than 5 private TV channel licenses, state minister says
[01] OPAP asks high court to cancel new gambling levy
Greek betting firm OPAP has filed a petition with the Council of State
to annul and suspend a new tax on its games, which became effective
this year, the company said in a statement.
The finance ministry announced a decision last year to levy a tax of
0.05 euros per column on all of OPAP's games in order help raise about
300 million euros per year in revenues.
According to the company, this levy, which is transferred to the punters
and collected by the state, is unconstitutional, against the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) but also against European and Greek law.
OPAP also claims that it is technically impossible to adjust the software
of its electronic machines to calculate and collect this tax, while
it also warned it may suspend some of the games, which will result in
"irreparable economic losses".
[02] Less than 5 private TV channel licenses, state minister says
The number of nationwide TV licenses to be allocated by the government
to private broadcasters via a public tender will be less than five,
in order to secure their viability, State Minister Nikos Pappas said
on Tuesday, during an interview.
Speaking to a local television station, the minister said the local
advertising market has shrunk so much that TV broadcasters are non-viable.
"We were saying that the problem is the triangle of vested interests. What
do we want to avoid? We do not want non-viable companies which rely on
bank borrowing, which creates the opaque terms and exerts pressure on
the political system, which in turn pressures the banks," he said.
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