BIR to shut down POGOs not complying with law

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has warned that it would shut down Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) who fail to comply with the law and pay the correct taxes.

In an interview, BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay said the agency is continuously pursuing tax enforcement efforts to ensure that POGOs and their workers are complying with Philippine tax laws.

“We continue to enforce the law. That’s the only requirement, for them to comply with the law, to pay the right taxes,” Dulay said.

According to Dulay, those companies with foreign employees who remain unregistered with the BIR and unable to remit withholding taxes would be shut down.

“If they don’t pay, and we see that they have not registered with the BIR, we will close them,” he said.

Dulay said the bureau is also going after offshore gaming firms who are unregistered with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), by issuing them with notices.

“Some have been licensed by PAGCOR, others remain unlicensed. So we sent out letters to them after checking our integrated tax system data,” he said.

The government is intensifying its efforts in monitoring foreign workers to ensure that they are paying the correct taxes.

As part of its effort, the government formed an inter-agency task force and issued a joint memorandum circular which requires all foreign nationals and their employers or withholding agents to secure a Tax Identification Number from the BIR.

The BIR is also working with the Department of Labor and Employment in developing a database of foreign nationals working in the country to effectively monitor them and ensure that they pay the correct amount of taxes to the government.

According to the Department of Finance, the BIR is expected to generate about P2 billion in additional income taxes annually from approximately 138,000 foreigners employed by this industry.

The DOF said these revenues are seen to stream in gradually, with about P200 million initially collected last July.