MANILA – The Department of Finance (DOF) said efforts are in place to ensure foreign nationals working in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) comply with tax laws, particularly in the payment of income taxes.
In a release given to reporters this week, the DOF quoted Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa as saying their data lists 54 POGO licensees, of which 10 are local firms and 44 are offshore operators.
She said only seven out of the local operators are registered, while only eight of the offshore licensees are registered with the BIR.
Finance secretary Carlos Dominguez said government agencies are working together to consolidate and reconcile a list of foreign nationals working for service providers of POGO operators.
The DOF said the initiative includes the following:
- Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which screens and issues visas to foreign nationals entering the country;
- Department of Justice (DOJ), which oversees the Bureau of Immigration (BI) that, in turn, grants short-term special work permits to foreigners.
- Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which issues alien employment permits
- Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), which has a list of its licensed POGO operators;
- Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which oversees the country’s special economic zones where a few of these POGOs operate
- and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which registers POGO agents.
“If we get all that (information), then it is possible that we can begin to collect taxes, enforcing the law on these foreign workers who are operating here. Isn’t that what we really want to do here, enforce the law?” Dominguez was quoted as saying.
The Finance chief also said it would be a “good starting point” to trace employers of these foreign workers so that “a portion of their salaries could be withheld and turned over to the government as partial payment of their income taxes.”
Moreover, Dominguez said it is “imperative for the government to find out who and where all these alien workers are, given the national security implications of their large presence in the country.”
The statement cited Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 78-2018 which provides that all foreign and Philippine-based gaming operators, including those with offshore licenses, are now required to register with the BIR as a prerequisite in the renewal of their PAGCOR licenses.
This also mandates the BIR to identify and monitor tax payments including remittances of taxes withheld on foreign nationals working for them.
Finance assistant secretary Tony Lambino, meanwhile, emphasized in a radio interview on Friday how unfair it would be for Filipino taxpayers to let foreigners working in POGOs run tax-free.
“Para po malaman talaga natin, ilan ba talaga ang mga foreign workers na nagtatrabaho sa POGO, sinu-sino sila at paano ho natin kokolektahin ang income tax and the reason why that is so important is because it’s unfair to the Filipino worker na nagbabayad po ng income tax regularly,” Lambino said. (GMA News)
