Dutch tax authority withdraws PokerStars EU tax appeal

Netherlands tax authority has finally conceded defeat in a legal battle over the taxation of PokerStars.eu Dutch players’ earnings.

PokerStars launch its Malta-licensed dot EU site in February 2012, first migrating its Sweden and Finland players followed by other European countries.

Under the EU law, poker players residing in the Netherlands will be taxed on their winnings when using the services of an operator established outside the EU. The Netherlands’ tax authority Belastingdienst felt that since PokerStars.eu is registered under PokerStars.com which is licensed in the Isle of Man (not part of EU), Dutch players would therefore be subject to taxes.

PokerStars player Freerk Post and his legal firm Taxwise advocaten & Belastingadviseurs filed a suit against Belastingdienst last year and argued that the dot EU site operates under a license from Malta (part of the European Union (EU), thus no taxes should be levied on earnings from the online poker room past this date.