Tax leakage from legit POGOs estimated at P1.9 billion, says Gatchalian

Registered Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators (POGOs) have been remiss in paying the correct taxes to the government with the tax leakage estimated at P1.9 billion from January to August this year, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has said.

In a statement, Gatchalian said the government could have collected more taxes and fees from legitimate POGOs had they been more honest in their transactions with the BIR and PAGCOR.

“It’s regrettable that even legitimate POGOS are remiss in the payment of correct taxes. This is exactly the reason a tax regime for POGOs was put in place which is to reduce uncollected taxes due the government,” Gatchalian said.

“It is lamentable that even licensed POGOs continue to disregard accurate payment of taxes,” he added.

Based on his office’s research, Gatchalian said the estimated tax leakages due to the discrepancy of gross gaming revenue as reported by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) from POGOs from January to August this year was estimated at P1.9 billion.

The senator said indicative gross gaming revenue from January to August of POGOs amounted to P28.36 billion based on the 5% gaming tax payments made to the BIR.

However, based on the 2% regulatory fee payments to PAGCOR, the indicative gross gaming revenue for the same period of POGOs reached P66.67 billion, according to Gatchalian.

The senator added that PAGCOR’s account receivables from POGOs over the same period were estimated at P2.3 billion.

“Research shows that we are not realizing the full benefits of allowing POGO operations in the country. It’s high time we consider developing other industries that are sustainable, high-yielding, and long-term businesses,” Gatchalian said.

In a separate statement, the Association of Service Providers and POGOs (ASPAP) said it will review the financial submissions of its POGO members with PAGCOR and the BIR to determine compliance with their license fees and tax obligations.

“Our group only represents 16 POGOs – less than half of those registered with PAGCOR. We’re coordinating with our member firms to check compliance as part of our self-policing initiatives,” ASPAP said.

The group earlier earlier warned that some 23,000 Filipinos would lose their jobs if POGOs are banned from the country.

Both administration and opposition lawmakers have called for a total ban on POGOs.

They argued that the proliferation of illegal POGO operations and undocumented workers, as well as criminal syndicates using POGO operations as front, are clear proof that the government is unable to effectively regulate the sector. —NB, GMA News