Th
e Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) padlocked Thursday another Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) for alleged failure to register as value-added taxpayer (VAT).
Revenue Deputy Commissioner for Operations Arnel Guballa signed the closure order of Altech Innovations Business Outsourcing (AIBC) with head office at the Aseana City in Paranaque and a branch in Pasay City in coordination with the Department of Finance.
It is a single proprietorship owned by one Jan Erick Lavariaz Altavas.
Guballa said AIBC will remain shuttered until deficiency taxes are paid, covering mostly the 25 percent final withholding tax (income tax) on the salaries of its foreign employees. The POGO task force is still assessing its tax liabilities
He said results of the investigation conducted by Paranaque Revenue District Officer Antonio Mangubat, Jr. showed that AIBC did not register in violation of Sections 108 and 236 of the Tax Code.
Like in previous closure, the AIBC’s more than 700 alien workers, who entered the country as tourists, were not arrested as sources disclosed the detention facilities of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) are inadequate to hold them.
Guballa threatened to shutter more POGOs for failure to answer notices to register and pay multi -billion peso tax debts.
It was the second shutdown of an online gaming business after the Great Empire Gaming and Amusement Corporations (GEGAC) with head office in Subic, Zambales, and two branches in Metro Manila for the same offense .
GEGAC, the second biggest online gaming in the country, was subsequently allowed to resume operations after paying P1.3 billion in deficiency taxes.
The BIR expects to generate P24 billion yearly from 218 POGOs that employ 109,000 alien workers mostly from China. (Jun Ramirez)
