POGO franchise taxes proposed to support COVID-19 programs
Minority senator Franklin Drilon proposed to squeeze Chinese-owned Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) for badly needed funds to bankroll the government’s COVID-19 programs. Drilon said that an estimated 140 billion can be spent for the current public health crisis.
Under the proposed scheme, all wagers will be slapped with a five per cent franchise tax, replacing the old system of taxing only winning bets. Thus every 1,050 peso actual bet is placed on the table for a 1,000 peso wager. The current exchange rate applies to all reports on POGO income to protect the government from being shortchanged or cheated.
Drilon added that the money generated from this initiative will augment savings of various agencies this year and revenue sourced from state-run businesses and the Tourism Infrastructure and Export Zone Authority,
