Gov’t to earn P1B a month from taxes on Lotto, STL —PCSO

The government is set to earn up to P1 billion a month in taxes from the various lottery games of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

In a statement issued on Tuesday, PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan said the expected earnings is due to the 20 percent tax imposed on winnings from the games of PCSO under Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law (TRAIN) law.

“Sa buwan-buwan na ipinapatong sa [PCSO] na tax, nang kinumpyot namin dati-rati ang ibinibigay namin na tax mula sa lahat ng ating lottery games ay P500 million. Ngayon, aabot na ng P1 billion,” Balutan said.

Winnings in lottery games such as Lotto, Ken, Small Town Lottery (STL), and Sweepstakes are affected by the 20-percent tax under the TRAIN law.

The government has repeatedly touted the benefits of the TRAIN law, which provides income tax cuts for the majority of Filipino taxpayers while raising excise taxes on petroleum products, cars, coal, sugary drinks, and tobacco to help support the government’s accelerated spending on its infrastructure and social services programs.

The Department of Finance has estimated that 99 percent of income tax payers will benefit from the TRAIN, with salaried employees and self-employed individuals earning a taxable income of P250,000 per year, or around P21,000 a month, exempted from paying the personal income tax. —Ted Cordero/KG, GMA News