Shuttered Pogo vows paying BIR so it can resume business

APHIlIPPINE Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) firm agreed to pay tax liabilities so that it can resume operations of its shuttered branches in Pasay and Parañaque cities, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reported last Tuesday.

The BIR said Altech Innovations Business Outsourcing made an initial payment of P8.2 million on Monday for the lifting of its suspension. The Pogo and its branch in Pasay City was raided by the tax agency last Thursday.

In a statement, the BIR said that Altech Innovations promised to pay the remaining balance of P37 million in November and December. The company also promised to update its 2019 income tax payments, according to the BIR.

Based on the BIR’s assessment, Altech Innovations has employed around 300 to 390 foreign workers, mostly Chinese.

According to BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel SD. Guballa, the P45-million settlement requirement only accounted for the employees’ income taxes and not the company’s liability for violating the value-added tax registration.

“The problem with these foreign workers, they have this ‘come and go’ scheme; that’s why you can’t really determine their tax liabilities,” Guballa said citing information from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), the Department of labor and Employment (DOlE), as well as the Bureau of Immigration.

Guballa also said Altech Innovations operated its branch in Pasay City for only around three to four months in 2018. The BIR has to validate such data with those provided by other government agencies.

“Reconciliation and substantiation of records are ongoing,” he added.

Guballa also warned tax-delinquent Pogo firms that the BIR’s crackdown against illegal Pogo operations continue, adding that they will maintain the “element of surprise” in conducting raids.

Earlier, Guballa said the government’s enforcement activity against tax evading Pogo service providers will intensify until they get rid of noncompliant online casinos operating in the country.

“We want to tell them, these service providers, that in the Philippines, they should comply with the tax laws,” Guballa said after the BIR shuttered Altech Innovations’ two branches.

As of this writing, the BIR has already monitored 218 Pogo service providers with 108,914 foreign national employees.