No special treatment for POGOs, Pagcor says

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) is pushing for a level playing field in the online gaming industry, opposing proposals that would impose certain advantages to special economic zones involved in Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGO).

“Special means special. In government there shall be no such thing, all policies, regulations, laws should be uniformly applied,” Andrea Domingo, Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer, told reporters yesterday.

Domingo made the statement following reports some groups were lobbying to “insert” provisions that would allegedly grant certain tax advantages to special economic zones, in the measure that seeks to regulate POGOs.

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The House of Representatives has recently agreed to adopt the Senate’s version of the POGO tax regime measure.

Joey Salceda, House ways and means chairman, said the version contains “only minor reworkings of the House version and there is no difference between their tax rates and tax bases.”

“Recognizing the respect that the Senate extended to the House version, we will adopt their changes, which in my view are acceptable,” Salceda said in an earlier statement.

The Senate version requires every alien employee of POGOs to have an tax identification number and slaps a fine of P20,000 on those without it; removed the provision that POGOs currently registered with other special economic zones will pay at their current tax rate or five percent of gross gaming revenues, whichever is higher, and instead make it a uniform rate of five percent; and it also prevents the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport from issuing new POGO licenses.

In April, Domingo expressed support to the POGO tax bill. She also favors the Senate version “because it is meant for healthcare,” which is “fair and good for both sides, government and POGOs.”

Salceda said that the taxes POGO will raise P13.4 billion in the first year of implementation of the measure, and P176.9 billion in five years. – Angela Celis

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