Philippines: senator Pia Cayetano praises POGO tax law
Senator Pia Cayetano, one of the main promoters of the POGOs tax new law, has heralded approval of the law as a “major win” for the country.
The Philippines.- Senator Pia Cayetano has described President Rodrigo Duterte’s signing of the much-anticipated tax law for Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) as a “major win” for the country.
The new law introduces a 5 per cent tax on POGO’s gross gaming revenue. It also requires foreigners employed in online casinos and their service providers to pay a 25 per cent income tax.
Cayetano said the bill would generate additional funds for public services, without adding extra taxes for Filipino residents. She said 60 per cent of the revenue collected would be earmarked for health programs amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“For years, many of these POGOS have been operating without paying the proper taxes. By virtue of this law that I sponsored and defended, they will now be taxed.”
Senator Pia Cayetano
President Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque said the legislation had been approved in order to regulate all forms of legal gambling and to prevent illicit gambling activities. The government believes it could collect PHP13.4bn (US$266.6m) in its first year of implementation and PHP32bn in 2022.
Cayetano said: “POGOs are offshore gaming operators, which means only foreigners abroad may gamble in POGOs. So the taxes do not come from Filipinos, or even foreigners residing in the country.”
Audit reveals PAGCOR failed to collect US$27.3m from POGOs
The Commission on Audit has revealed in its annual 2020 report on PAGCOR that the regulator failed to collect nearly PHP1.37bn (US$27.3m) from 15 Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
According to the report, some of the receivables were already one or three years past due and there are also uncollected revenues from operators of poker, traditional, electronic, and rapid bingo, and other electronic games.
Auditors said: “Further verification revealed that the past due receivables from offshore gaming were the accounts of the POGOs with cancelled operating sites and some with approved payment restructuring that have been already endorsed to the legal department for appropriate action, among others.”
Of the 15 POGOs that failed to pay, eight had their licences revoked, one was suspended and three were under review. The remaining three operators were still working as of January 12, 2021.
