PAGCOR supports bill which seeks to reduce tax on casino winnings

The nation’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) has said that it is in favor of a measure that the Senate is now discussing that would reduce taxes on player casino revenues.

During a public hearing on the proposed tax, a Pagcor official said that the taxes had made the land-based casino business in the Philippines less competitive in the region.

Arnold Salvosa, assistant vice president of corporate services at Pagcor, said that Western competitors, Macau and Singapore, do not tax winnings from casinos. Winnings from gambling are seen as a windfall by them rather than as income.

Salvosa made these comments during a public hearing hosted by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means of the Philippines to discuss the proposed Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA). According to ABS-CBN News, this law would lower the tax rate on passive income from 20% to 15% in an effort to increase compliance.

According to a study report published by the Philippine National Tax Research Center, a branch of the Department of Finance in the country, the country now withholds 20% of earnings from casinos beyond PHP10,000 (US$177.65). A victory more than PHP 10,000 will be subject to regular individual income tax.

Original story by: GGRAsia