THE ACCREDITED Service Providers Association of PAGCOR (ASPAP) said its members are “dutifully”
paying regulatory fees and other taxes following calls by various groups and
politicians for the government to run after Philippine
Offshore Gaming Operators or POGO.
POGO is the official designation for firms operating in the country
which offer online gambling services to markets outside the Philippines.
ASPAP spokesperson, Atty. Margarita Gutierrez, expressed
disappointment over comments circulating about Pogo Service Providers’ (PSP)
tax payments.
This comes after certain personalities called on the Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) to go after PSPs for additional taxes and focus on
tracking down illegal offshore gaming operators instead of placing the burden
on online sellers and retailers.
The Bureau
of Internal Revenue has required online sellers and retailers to register their
businesses and does not automatically subject them to taxes.
Gutierrez appealed to the public to get the correct facts first
on how PSPs go about settling its tax payments before saying anything, adding
that the group dutifully pay regulatory fees as well as the corporate and
withholding tax of their workers.
“People should get their facts straight and study the laws
involved before making comments as our industry is as essential as the others
in terms of revenue generation,” said Gutierrez.
“Members
of our organization are paying the correct taxes to government as pre-requisite
to resuming operations. It is unfair to put us down without knowing the real
story. Instead, we should try to contribute what we can in big or small ways to
bring our economy back on track,” she added.
Gutierrez said taxing online sellers and retailers is nothing
new, saying, it is within the existing tax laws which will only impose income taxes
for those earning more than P250,000 per annum and Value-Added Tax to those
earning more than P3,000,000 per annum.
“ASPAP members reiterate our unequivocal commitment to pay the
appropriate taxes imposed by the government prior to the limited reopening of
online gaming operations. This is consistent with our assurances to fully
support the country’s recovery from the crushing pandemic,” she added.
The government has allowed the limited operations of PSPs as
part of its measures to raise funds to address the effects of the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Gutierrez also underscored that the government collected P6.42
billion in additional personal and corporate income tax from the PSPs and
stressed that it is complying with tax laws even before the outbreak of the
pandemic.
“ASPAP members opted not to seek incentives or any tax breaks
from government from the start,” said Gutierrez, adding that the PSPs are
contributing around P94.7 billion to the local economy that could reach as high
as P104 billion this year.
Just recently, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque clarified that
the government is collecting the unpaid taxes of PSPs contrary to Senator Riza Hontiveros’
claims. “We collect their taxes, Senator Risa Hontiveros. They will not be
allowed to open unless they pay their taxes,” said Roque in one of his
briefings.
“We are getting our funding for the COVID-19 response from the
BIR and the Bureau of Customs. So while our funding requirements go up, we will
continue to look for ways to increase our intake of taxes,” he added.
The Palace official stressed that “if our country’s coffers are
empty, we have no way of distributing aid while COVID-19 remains a threat.”
Malacanang also clarified that sellers earning P250,000 below
annually are exempted from paying taxes under the tax reform law.
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