“It would be a huge waste if laxity or inefficiency in tax collection is causing government a loss. After all, this revenue source did not even exist years ago.

Online gaming operators may be making a killing at their tills, but so is our government with the amount of taxes they are expected to pay each year.

There are currently 218 Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) service providers and 60 PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.)-registered POGO operating in the Philippines, according to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Assuming all taxes are paid and collected, government is set to get P2 billion a month — or P24 billion a year — to help fund all the various things our country needs in order to move forward.

Unfortunately, BIR’s tax collection seems to have disappointed the Senate Committee on Ways and Means recently. The agency had reported it culled from POGO the amount of P1.79 billion from January to September this year.

While the trend is reportedly improving — last year only P1.4 billion was collected as of August — it is still short of the target.

Apparently, the BIR only manages to collect from 10 out of 60 registered online gaming operators in the country.

This is troublesome enough it seems to get Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III saying that BIR should “squeeze all POGO service providers that remain noncompliant with tax laws and regulations despite several notices,” as one report goes.

Citing the Cabinet secretary, the report said an effective campaign against “unscrupulous POGO would benefit not only the government’s revenue collection, but also the PAGCOR as the gaming regulator, the Bureau of Immigration as well as the Department of Labor and Employment.”

If anything, this should illustrate yet again the glaring need for many of our government agencies to work together for a common goal — similar to what the Departments of Transportation and Public Works and Highways are doing for the “Build, Build, Build” program.

In the realm of tax collection, the lifeblood of a nation, a concerted effort will go a long way into benefiting not only our people through rich coffers but also, perhaps, in keeping corruption at bay.

As for these POGO, it would be a huge waste if laxity or inefficiency in tax collection is causing government a loss. After all, this revenue source did not even exist years ago, “before President Rodrigo Duterte handed over control of the POGO companies to PAGCOR.”

The BIR has sent some “164 letter notices to service providers with total estimated final withholding tax liabilities amounting to P25.13 billion,” another source reveals.

While letters can reach these erring operators, it may still require joint enforcement activity with other agencies of government.

Another solution is House Bill 5267, which would require overseas-based and Philippine-based POGO to be taxed through a five percent tax on their profit.

If approved, a report says, “the government may acquire P45 billion in one year as the POGO will also be charged with corporate income tax.”

This has given rise to another set of debates, one that questions a special treatment of POGO in light of murmurs that foreign workers there are paying less income taxes than Filipinos.

Ultimately, the point is that if POGO should be allowed to operate here, they should pay their dues to the Philippine government which, in turn, should do its part all the way to benefiting all Filipino citizens.