THE government should first go after the uncollected P50-billion tax due from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) before targeting “small fry” among taxpayers, Sen. Joel Villanueva said on Thursday.
He made the call while noting that weeks after the Bureau of Internal Revenue issued an order for firms to submit a notarized commitment to pay arrears of previous years, none of the delinquent POGOs had stepped forward, per BIR report.
“Cast your tax nets on the big fish, not on the small fry,” the senator suggested Thursday as he prodded the BIR to “prioritize collection of back taxes from sectors like the POGO which owes at least P50 billion, to raise much-needed government revenue.”
Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, cited the massive layoffs contributing to the spike in unemployment, even as he credited the entrepreneurial spirit of online sellers “for defying the odds and trying to survive through the different things they hawk on social media and shopping apps.”
He acknowledged that government needs to collect taxes, but suggested that the BIR prioritize those already proven to be delinquent taxpayers, starting with the P50-billion uncollected taxes owed by POGOs, stressing these are the ones the tax men should focus on.
At the same time, he prodded the BIR to “intensify its information campaign to encourage MSMEs to register with the BIR, the benefits of doing so and the taxes applicable to them even as he cited, for instance, that under the TRAIN law, sole proprietorship earning P250,000 or less is not subject to tax.
Pointing out that the government appeared to be bending over backwards in urging POGO firms to pay their unpaid taxes, Villanueva lamented that “their call has fallen on deaf ears.”
As a condition for allowing them to resume their operations, “POGOs must settle taxes [they owe] the government,” including, he said, a notarized commitment to pay arrears in previous years, under the BIR’s Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 46-2020 issued on May 7, 2020.
He recalled that two weeks after the memo’s release, BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa reported that no POGO firms or their service providers have yet come forward to settle their tax obligations.
The lawmaker lamented that government already gave POGOs several opportunities to set their operations in order, only for them to squander the opportunity. “The government has given the POGO so many opportunities to correct their operations. It is clear they have squandered such opportunities,” he said, in a mix of English and Filipino.
Villanueva suggested the same opportunity be extended to Filipino entrepreneurs, more so online traders, who he said are braving a new world of business in the pandemic, many of them delivering essential services.
“We should be thankful that our countrymen are resourceful. They were not given assistance and yet we are taxing Filipino traders who want to earn a decent living,” the senator said.
Meanwhile, Villanueva cited reports that at least three illegal POGO operations were busted by police during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Parañaque, Makati, and Las Piñas, arresting over 450 foreigners and confiscating hundreds of gadgets and some P7 million in cash.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes