The ongoing chase after the tax delinquent POGO should not only benefit government in revenue terms but also PAGCOR as gaming regulator and the BI as well as the Department of Labor and Employment.
Tax collection from Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) gains traction as the revenue stream continue to improve every month, reflecting the increased number of tax-compliant POGO firms in the country.
This was learned from Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa who attributed the compliance among the POGO to the “fear” of being caught and to government’s commitment to chase after tax evading firms.
“Our collection is improving because they know that we’re doing enforcement activity. As you know, our dialogue with them had lapsed. We sent them notices and they did not comply so we raided them,” Guballa said.
Earlier, the tax bureau ordered the closure of a tax delinquent POGO service provider to drive home the message that evasion is futile.
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The taxman added other POGO service providers have reached out to the agency after the raid on the Great Empire Gaming and Amusement Corp., which brought the government revenues worth P1.3 billion.
With this development, Guballa expressed optimism the collection from POGO service providers in September will sustain its growth.
Latest data from the bureau show a P230 million incline in income tax collection, bringing the figure higher to P1.63 billion from only P1.4 billion in August.
The BIR executive recently reported they monitored 218 POGO service providers that employ 108,914 foreign nationals based on latest data.
On the processing of tax identification numbers (TIN) for POGO workers, Guballa said there is an ongoing effort to provide pre-employment requirement when securing a work permit.
However, based on coordinated monitoring by the BIR, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI), employee turnover rate among the POGO is relatively high and thus the need to continuously process new TIN for inbound workers.
According to Guballa, the high turnover rate adds to the already difficult task of processing application forms as some Chinese names are similar or sound alike.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the ongoing chase after the tax delinquent POGO should not only benefit government in revenue terms but also PAGCOR as gaming regulator and the BI as well as the Department of Labor and Employment.
