Villanueva: POGOs must pay taxes like any foreign business

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo) should pay appropriate taxes just like any foreign entities, Senator Joel Villanueva said Monday.

Villanueva, chair of the Senate committee on labor, employment, and human resources development, said operations of any businesses that do not pay taxes are considered “illegal.”

“Regardless of the industry, any foreign entity operating in the country must pay the appropriate taxes in accordance with prevailing laws. If you don’t pay taxes, your operations are illegal, plain and simple,” Villanueva said in a statement.

The senator issued the statement when sought for comment  on the reported stand of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) that Pogos cannot be taxed since it earns “from bets placed by its registered foreign subscribers.”

“If this is the argument that some Pogos are using to run away from taxes, their contention does not have a leg to stand on,” Villanueva said.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Villanueva added, is already shutting down Pogo companies that are not paying its taxes.

“Our chief tax assessor and collector, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, has already begun clamping down on tax-dodging Pogo firms,” Villanueva said.

These companies must settle their obligations and duties to our government, just like any other business entity running their operations here in our country,” he added.

Edited by KGA