PARLIAMENTARY discussions to prevent Greek Cypriots from spending money in casinos in the north seem to be hitting a brick wall.
Yesterday’s discussion during the House Institutions Committee, which was a repetition of the multiple previous ones, yet again proved it was near impossible to control the number of Cypriots who choose to gamble in the north.
Committee Chairman Rikkos Erotokritou of the European Party pressed the police to try harder and offer more information to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) over Greek Cypriots’ activities in the north so that possible gambling earnings could be taxed. This, he said, would act as a deterrent.
But as Officer Costas Kerimis of Nicosia Police Headquarters explained, it was almost impossible to monitor the activities of each person crossing over to the north, considering that in 2007 so far a total of 500,170 people had done so.
“Following today’s meeting, it is clear that imposing tax on gambling winnings from the north is feasible,” Erotokritou said after the meeting.
“And in order for the Inland Revenue Department to tax illegal profits from casinos in the north it needs names and data on people who go to the north and visit casinos, as well as information on their credit card activities,” he added.
“The conclusion of today’s meeting is that the police force is stating incapability, for its own reasons, to offer the Inland Revenue Department the necessary data, which does not comply with the public’s sense of justice,” Erotokritou continued.
He said he would persist on the issue of taxing illegal gambling earnings, pointing out that it was the police’s responsibility to find ways of providing the IRD with the necessary data.
DIKO deputy Nicos Cleanthous was more realistic in his approach. “The relevant bodies that have spoken to the committee have repeatedly explained that unfortunately, it is impossible to take any measures to end or restrict this phenomenon,” he told reporters following the meeting.
He said it was a basic matter of each Cypriot’s conscience and didn’t rule out the possibility of a legal way being found to prosecute those who are breaking the law.
During the meeting, a spokesman for credit card company JCC said it was hard to define where and when credit cards were being used in casinos, adding that it was impossible to find precise data, as most companies in the north state that their workplace is in Turkey.
According to JCC Data, during 2006 Greek Cypriots spent £4 million on their credit cards in the occupied areas and Turkey, while Turkish Cypriots spent £7 million in the Republic.
