PAGCOR wins appeal in tax under-collection case

The Commission on Audit (COA) has ruled in favour of PAGCOR.

The Philippines.- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has won a legal victory appeal against charges pertaining to alleged tax discrepancies involving two casino operators. The Commission on Audit (COA) has overturned notices of charge (NCs) totalling PHP38.16m issued against the regulator in 2016.

The charges accused PAGCOR of failing to collect franchise taxes from Frontier Wish International Limited (FWIL) and Palmgold International Limited. COA stressed its absence of duty in tax collection, referencing a 2017 Supreme Court ruling, asserting that COA’s role doesn’t include tax collection, a responsibility vested in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

According to Malaya, auditors revealed that the amounts, PHP28.525m from FWIL and PHP9.635m from Palmgold, should have been deducted from the casinos’ income shares but were instead paid to them. The COA also lifted notices of charge against PAGCOR regarding PHP41.5m in alleged uncollected franchise taxes from Frontier Wish (PHP21.15m) and Gold Coast Leisure World Corp (PHP20.35m).

See also: PAGCOR receives highest governance score in 2022 report