The Philippine government says it won’t allow Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators who have failed to pay their taxes to operate following reports some POGOs had reopened without meeting their tax obligations.
The Presidential palace, Malacañang, stated via Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday, “We would not allow POGOs with unpaid taxes to operate,” in response to news the Finance department has launched an investigation. It was recently alleged that only two POGOs had settled their tax obligations but that many more were already operating.
PAGCOR Chair and CEO Andrea Domingo said it was “probably” true some POGOs had resumed operations without permission, however the Philippines gaming regulator told Inside Asian Gaming earlier this week that 11 POGO licensees have been granted an Authority to Resume Operations (ARO) by PAGCOR since COVID-19 restrictions were eased in early May.
Another two have submitted their Bureau of Internal Revenue Clearance and are awaiting issuance of an ARO, “pending the required inspection of their workspaces by our monitoring and enforcement department and settlement of any outstanding arrears with PAGCOR. The rest are still in the process of settling their tax liabilities,” PAGCOR said.
