Senator Alan Peter Cayetano expressed support for Senator Risa Hontiveros’ push to ban Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) but proposed an alternative approach for their tax regulations.
“Would it be a remedy to put an absurd amount of tax amending the tax law that Senator Risa said, but let’s say putting a 10,000 percent tax on POGOs which will effectively ban it?” Cayetano said during the recent plenary debates on the “CREATE MORE” bill.
Hontiveros sought an amendment to Section 28 to address POGO taxation, recommending an additional clause to repeal the existing tax regulations on POGOs.
Cayetano, however, asserted that merely repealing the tax would not suffice to ban POGOs.
“If we repeal it, we’re not banning POGOs, we’re actually taking out the tax from the POGOs,” he explained.
The senator from Taguig also raised questions about the broader implications of repealing taxes and the potential effects of imposing progressive tax rates on offshore activities.
“There’s no argument with the intent and I’d like to thank Senator Risa kasi nga I think it’s timely. Let’s find a final solution [to this] and put it into the law,” said Cayetano.IMT
