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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Offshore gaming group vows to pay taxes

Offshore gaming group vows to pay taxes

Published May 3, 2020 12:00 am
By Chino S. Leyco A group of offshore gaming service providers said that its members will pay their taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and regulatory fees to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) prior to their partial business reopening. In a statement, the Accredited Service Providers Association of Pagcor (ASPAP) said that aside from taxes and fees, its members will also comply with the strict health guidelines by the Inter- Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF). "They will comply with strict guidelines issued by Malacañang, the IATF and the Pagcor as pre-conditions for allowing them to resume partial operations,” ASPAP said following the IATF ruling that eased its restrictions on online gaming. To recall, tax compliance was among the issues hounding the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO). Based on BIR estimates, a number errant industry players owe the government at ₱27.35 billion in tax liabilities. Last Friday, Andrea Domingo, Pagcor chair and chief executive, said that BIR certification of tax payments was among the pre-requisites of the government before POGOs and their service providers are allowed to resume operations. Domingo also said that regulatory and license fees, as well as performance bond or penalties due to Pagcor should be settled first by POGOs and service providers. Pagcor chief, meanwhile, said that POGOs should follow the health protocols under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) rules to ensure employees are protected from the infections, and to contain the spread of the coronavirus. “Deep cleaning and disinfection of facilities, testing of Filipino and foreign workers for COVID-19 prior to deployment… and proper social distancing and other measures ,” ASPAP assured. Meanwhile, ASPAP said that its members welcomed their classification as business process out-sourcing (BPO) companies. “Its members are typical BPOs that provide POGO with BPO services like call center operations, telemarketing, systems and har ware support, as well as ‘live dealer’ video streaming and other online games,” ASPAP said. “To stress a point – POGOs are offshore gaming operators, while POGO service providers are typical Philippine-based BPO companies that are purely paid service fees,” it added. While its members are awaiting Pagcor’s official communication before operating at 30 percent capacity, ASPAP said its priority is to start cleaning and disinfecting all workplaces. In response to detractors’ claims that POGO service providers expose people to high risks of infection, the group stressed that none of its local and Chinese workers have tested positive for COVID-19. ASPAP said their members are implementing strict precautionary measures since the pandemic’s early stages.
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