Some POGOs Started Scrapping Lease Contracts in PH - Finance Chief
Photo Credit: Carlos Dominguez III Twitter Account
Some Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) as well as their service providers have started abandoning their lease contracts in the country, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.
Dominguez revealed this during the Senate deliberation on the Department of Finance’s proposed budget for 2021 on Wednesday.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon asked Dominguez how much revenue the government can collect from POGOs following the revised computation of POGO franchise taxes under the Bayanihan II Act. The revision was done to augment funds for the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the new law, the franchise tax to be collected from POGOs will cover 5% of all bets made and not just the amount of winnings.
The finance chief said the DOF is still estimating the potential revenue to be collected using the revised computation.
“We are at the moment making the estimate but let me just point out that last night, I got a call from the owner of a building in Makati saying that his POGO and service provider clients have started canceling their lease of contracts for lack of business,” Dominguez said.
“I think the Chinese government is clamping down on money transfers. [They] also started canceling passports of those people servicing the POGO industry,” he added.
Several lawmakers have been calling for the closure of POGO companies in the country because of the industry’s supposed link to various crimes such as human trafficking.
POGO companies have also drawn widespread criticism over alleged failure to pay the right taxes to the government.
Dominguez revealed this during the Senate deliberation on the Department of Finance’s proposed budget for 2021 on Wednesday.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon asked Dominguez how much revenue the government can collect from POGOs following the revised computation of POGO franchise taxes under the Bayanihan II Act. The revision was done to augment funds for the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the new law, the franchise tax to be collected from POGOs will cover 5% of all bets made and not just the amount of winnings.
The finance chief said the DOF is still estimating the potential revenue to be collected using the revised computation.
“We are at the moment making the estimate but let me just point out that last night, I got a call from the owner of a building in Makati saying that his POGO and service provider clients have started canceling their lease of contracts for lack of business,” Dominguez said.
“I think the Chinese government is clamping down on money transfers. [They] also started canceling passports of those people servicing the POGO industry,” he added.
Several lawmakers have been calling for the closure of POGO companies in the country because of the industry’s supposed link to various crimes such as human trafficking.
POGO companies have also drawn widespread criticism over alleged failure to pay the right taxes to the government.
