Pagcor settles unpaid taxes worth P857 M

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) has finally settled its unpaid back taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) amounting to P857 million, its chairman and chief executive officer Cristino Naguiat announced on Tuesday.

Naguiat said the state-run gaming firm settled the amount last December following a Supreme Court decision declaring as constitutional the removal of Pagcor from the list of agencies exempted from paying corporate income tax.

A big chunk of the agency’s tax liabilities, he said, were incurred beginning 2004 until 2010 when the agency was removed from the said list.

But after the high tribunal’s ruling, Naguiat said Pagcor immediately coordinated with the BIR for an audit of the back taxes supposed to be paid by the agency.

“We talked to BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares and informed her of our desire to voluntarily comply with Pagcor’s tax obligations by offering to settle P857 million in unpaid back taxes. This is our way of helping raise more funds for our government,” the Pagcor chief said in a statement.

The BIR, he said, eventually agreed to accept P857 million as partial settlement of the agency’s tax liabilities.

“The amount is still subject to validation by BIR. There is still an on-going audit investigation. We will not hesitate to pay the taxes due our government,” Naguiat said.

Pagcor is the third largest revenue-generating arm of the government next to the BIR and the Bureau of Customs. From January to November 2011, Pagcor generated a gross revenue of P33.15 billion, P15.51 billion of which was channelled to large-scale socio-civic programs.

Of these contributions, P1.13 billion went to the BIR in the form of franchise tax, P10.71 billion to the National Treasury, P536 million to the Philippine Sports Commission, P453 million as share of Pagcor’s casino host-cities, P1.75 billion to the President’s Social Fund, P873 million as direct assistance for socio-civic projects, P40 million to the Board of Claims, and P14.37 million for special laws.

Naguiat said Pagcor was able to settle its obligations with the BIR using the agency’s savings.

He said the state gaming firm also allocated P1 billion for its “Matuwid na Daan sa Silid-Aralan” project.

The project, Naguiat said, aims to build 1,000 classrooms nationwide in time for the opening of classes for school year 2012-2013.

“We are committed to help our government in its campaign to move our country forward. This year, we intend to make Pagcor more active in our government’s various nation-building efforts by implementing high-impact corporate social responsibility projects. This is our way of saying we care and we will do our part in improving the lives of our countrymen,” he said.