BIR releases tax guidelines for POGOs

PAGCOR will have to submit monthly reports on franchise tax collection and the number of workers employed by industry. 

The Philippines.- The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has released a set of guidelines for Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) to pay the corresponding 5 per cent tax on turnover.  

Philippine authorities have changed the way taxes for POGOs are applied. Operators must now pay a franchise tax on gross bets or the minimum guarantee fee, whichever is higher.

The payment must be calculated based on the Philippine peso equivalent of the foreign currency in which they generate their revenues. 

The tax does not exempt POGOs from paying income tax, VAT, and other applicable taxes on income from non-gaming operations, PAGCOR said recently in a memo. 

Now the BIR’s guidelines warn that failure to pay will result in the closure of gaming operations and filing of tax evasion charges.

The guidelines signed by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III state that income from the franchise tax will be destined to Covid-19 relief efforts. One the pandemic is over, income will go to the government’s general fund.

The BIR has also instructed PAGCOR to submit monthly franchise tax collection reports as well as reports on the number of workers employed by industry, the Manila Bulletin reported.