Tax evading Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators will be closed and padlocked “as soon as possible,” the Department of Finance said Wednesday.
Finance Undersecretary Karl Chua said “Oplan Kandado” will be applied to any gaming operator that refuses to pay taxes or liabilities.
“We are lowering the tax rates for everyone, but we have to broaden the base and ensure everyone complies and we make it easier for them to comply. So I think it will be unfair if we are not serious to make the law apply to everyone,” Chua said in a press briefing in Malacañang.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III previously directed the Bureau of Internal Revenue to shut down POGOs and their service providers if they fail to pay the tax liabilities of their foreign workers.
Dominguez issued the order following the BIR’s disclosure that collections have remained slow despite the issuance of 130 letter-notices to firms with tax liabilities worth P21.62 billion.
“We ask Filipino companies and the Filipino workers to pay the right taxes. And I think regardless of the investors or the workers, everyone should follow,” Chua said.