bet-at-home hit with €11.9m Austrian tax bill

Betclic Everest Group-owned bet-at-home has revealed that it expects to receive an €11.9m (£10.7m/$13.1m) bill from the Austrian tax authorities, relating to the activities of its Linz-based subsidiary.

This wholly-owned subsidiary, bet-at-home.com Entertainment, which in turn owns the operator’s Malta- and Gibraltar-based operating companies, is subject to an ongoing tax assessment by the Austrian Ministry of Finance.

The auditors, bet-at-home said, have questioned the level of internal transfer pricing within the business.

This concerns the sale of goods from one division of a company to another. Divisions in jurisdictions with a higher tax rate can pay larger sums for certain products and services from another in a region with a lower tax rate, in order to reduce a business’ overall tax burden.

While it has not been confirmed that this is the cause of the auditor’s concerns, bet-at-home said that it now expects to pay €11.9m in back taxes for the five-year period following discussions with the authorities.

Furthermore, it will make changes to its intercompany invoicing practices, which it said will increase taxes incurred by bet-at-home Entertainment to €5.5m in 2019.

However, it added, this will be offset by a lower tax burden in Malta, meaning the changes will lead to the business paying an additional €5.0m in taxes for the fiscal year.