PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has certified as urgent a tax bill for the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) industry, citing the need to generate revenue and improve controls over firms engaged in the businesses.
Mr. Duterte certified as urgent Senate Bill (SB) No. 2232, his spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. said in a statement late Monday.
“We hope that through this measure we would not only generate the much needed revenue… but also place the industry under stricter government oversight,” he said.
The government is expected to raise P121.9 billion in revenue over the next four years if the measure passes.
“If they finish today, we will have a POGO tax bill on President Duterte’s desk during the sine die adjournment. I want this bill passed as soon as possible, so I am open to recommending to the Speaker that we adopt the bill the Senate passes this afternoon,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda said in a statement.
In the House version of the bill, which passed in February, POGOs will be subject to a 5% tax on gross gaming receipts, Mr. Salceda said. Their service providers will be subject to regular taxes, he added.
Non-resident employees, meanwhile, will be subject to a withholding tax of 25% of gross income.
Mr. Salceda said the rates set by the House were adopted by the Senate.
“There is very little difference between the House and the Senate version since, like the Estate Tax Amnesty earlier, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means saw little need to repeat the extensive hearings and study we have conducted in the House,” he said. “So, the bill is almost identical to that of the House.”
“If they retain these rates, the House is very open to just adopting the Senate version as its version. After all, we wrote the first draft, so we agree with the principles and key provisions.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Roque said the President also certified as urgent SB No. 2234, which creates a separate department for overseas Filipino workers.
The measure is expected “to provide a more efficient, whole-of-government approach to protect the rights and promote the welfare and interest of overseas Filipinos,” he said.
If passed, the measure would turn the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration into the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos, handling the concerns of migrant workers. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
