The Bureau of Internal Revenue will not hesitate to file tax evasion cases against online gaming companies that ignored or refused to pay alleged deficiency income tax incurred by their foreign employees amounting to more than P4.4 billion.
The BIR Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators Task Force issued the warning after sending the second batch of assessment notices asking the gaming outfits to settle the tax liabilities totaling P3.4 billion.
The first batch of notices worth more than P1 billion was sent last month covering 19 POGO firms.
A task force official explained the sending of notices was the initial step in settling the outstanding liabilities “but we will pursue tough sanctions if gaming operators persist of not paying the withholding tax.”
The tax liabilities were collated and validated from data supplied by various government offices, notably the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Bureau of Immigration.
The source said Internet-based gaming firms have been employing for years foreign nationals without subjecting their salaries and other emoluments to withholding tax and remitting them to the BIR as required by the Tax Code.
The BIR is still awaiting answer as the online gaming operators were given two weeks to reply upon receipts of the assessment notice.
Meanwhile, the BIR has required foreign nationals desiring to work in the online gaming business to secure Tax Identification Number with the agency. (Jun Ramirez)
