Vending machine tax

What it means

Vending machine tax is a local tax on machines that dispense goods for payment, such as drinks, cigarettes, sweets or food, placed in the municipality where the public can access them. A municipality may, but need not, introduce it, and does so by a generally binding regulation.

The tax is paid by the machine's operator, not by the owner of the premises where it stands. The tax base is the number of vending machines, and the municipality sets the rate in euros per machine per calendar year. Machines that provide services, such as gaming machines, fall under other rules.

Along with dog tax, accommodation tax and public space tax, it is one of the smaller local taxes that municipalities use to top up their budgets and regulate activities in their area.

How it works in practice

Liability starts on the first day of the month in which the machine begins operating and ends on the last day of the month in which operation stops. Both the start and the end must be reported to the municipality within the deadline in its regulation, usually 30 days.

The municipality may require the machine to be labelled, for example with the operator's name, company ID and start date, and the operator to keep a register of machines. This lets the municipality easily check during an inspection that all machines have been declared.

For the operator the tax is a deductible expense. Sales records also matter: vending sales may in some cases be exempt from recording through eKasa, but the takings must still be booked and, for VAT payers, VAT paid on them.

What to watch out for

With machines in several municipalities, the tax is paid to each municipality separately under its own rules. An operator with a network of machines needs an overview of where each one stands and which municipalities levy the tax, or a notification is easily missed and a fine follows.

When a machine moves between municipalities, liability ends in one and begins in the other. If the operator forgets to report the end, the municipality may assess tax even for a period when the machine was no longer there, and proving otherwise later is difficult.