PH to continue collecting taxes from Pogos

The government will continue to collect the taxes from foreign—mostly Chinese—workers in Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) and issue tax identification numbers (TINs) to those still unregistered even as the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Wednesday said online gambling was illegal in the mainland.

“We will not suspend the issuance of TINs to foreign workers,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters when asked if the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) would temporarily stop TIN issuance to unregistered Pogo workers.

“We are simply implementing the Tax Code, and requiring those earning Philippine-sourced income to pay income tax,” he said.

Citing Chinese laws and regulations, the Chinese Embassy said in a statement that “any form of gambling by Chinese citizens, including online gambling, gambling overseas, [and] opening casinos overseas to attract citizens of China as primary customers, is illegal.”

“The casinos and offshore gaming operators (Pogos) and other forms of gambling entities in the Philippines target Chinese citizens as their primary customers. A large number of Chinese citizens have been illegally recruited and hired in the Philippine gambling industry. In many cases, the employers of Philippine casinos, Pogos and other forms of gambling entities do not apply necessary legal work permits for their Chinese employees,” the Chinese Embassy said. —BEN O. DE VERA