DoF to POGOs: Pay tax dues first before leaving

PHILIPPINE offshore gaming operators (POGOs) leaving the country must first settle their tax liabilities with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) before doing so, the Department of Finance (DoF) insisted on Monday.

This comes after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. ( Pagcor) confirmed that one such POGO, Suncity, shuttered its business in the country, while another, Don Tences Asian Services Solutions Inc., sought to cancel its license.

Quoting the BIR, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said that although Suncity was an offshore licensee, it was not registered with the tax bureau.

“We still intend to go after its tax dues,” Dominguez told reporters.

On Don Tences, the Finance chief said that although it was a local licensee and already paying tranchise tax, it remained subject to investigation before the BIR would allow it to close.

Besides POGO license holders, 13 service providers — which involves call center operations, telemarketing, systems and hardware support, as well as “live dealer” video streaming and other online games — have also closed shop, according to Jose Tria, Pagcor assistant vice president for offshore gaming licensing.

He said these companies chose to end operations because of the franchise tax payment the government demanded and high overhead costs.

Pagcor has warned that more gaming firms could shut down because of stringent tax rules that worsened the effects of the ban on casino operations during the community quarantine.

The state-run firm suspended POGOs’ operations on March 18 after the government declared a public health emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On May 1, the government announced the partial reopening of POGOs, but said they and their service providers must first settle their tax liabilities with the BIR.

Pagcor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrea Domingo Domingo has said the closure of POGOs would not only affect government coffers, but also 30,521 Filipino workers.