The House of Representatives on Monday endorsed for Senate approval the bill imposing a tax on persons engaged in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO).
This, after lawmaker–voting 198 affirmative, 12 negative and 2 abstentions–approved House Bill 5777, which seeks to amend Section 25 and add a new Section 150-C of the National Internal Revenue Code.
The bill defines offshore gaming licensee which may be a Philippine-Based Operator or an Offshore-Based Operator under Section 150-C to clarify its taxability.
The measure imposes income tax to alien individuals employed by offshore gaming licensees an amount equivalent to 25 percent of the salaries, wages, annuities, compensation, remuneration and other emoluments, such as honoraria and allowances received from such licensee.
The bill said P600,000 shall be the presumed minimum gross annual income of foreign employees working for POGOs.
It also imposes an excise tax equivalent to 5 percent of the gross revenue or receipts from gaming operations and other similar related activities on all offshore gaming operators.
House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda, principal author of the bill, said that proposal would generate as much as P45 billion on its first year alone.
He said part of the public sentiment against POGOs stems from the observation that the government is not getting our fair share in taxes out of the industry.
“POGOs are not illegal under the law, so the whole discussion about whether they should be closed down for good, I think, is not the most immediate concern. The most immediate concern is how to get the revenues from them,” Salceda added.
However, Minority Leader Stephen Paduano voted against the passage of the bill, saying the Special Economic Zones with their own Charter like Aurora, Zamboanga and Cagayan already have a tax provision in their Charters.
“They should have been excluded from the coverage of this proposed revenue measure,” he added.