POGOs are not BPOs. Here are some differences:
1. @PEZA_PH Director-General Charito Plaza says BPOs may apply in PEZA ecozone to qualify for tax perks. “We don’t accept offshore gambling,” she said by phone.
1. @PEZA_PH Director-General Charito Plaza says BPOs may apply in PEZA ecozone to qualify for tax perks. “We don’t accept offshore gambling,” she said by phone.
While some BPOs may process “administrative work” like “accounting” for POGOs, Plaza said those firms directly involved in actual betting in POGOs may not apply before PEZA.
2. Under BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular 102-2017, offshore gaming service providers here must pay 5% franchise tax in lieu of all gaming revenues. BPOs, which can have varying business from voice to non-voice, do not pay such tax.
3. Under broader gov’t Investment Priorities Plan, BPO is also considered priority sector for incentives. There are only 2 ecozones that grant perks to POGOs: that based in Aurora and Cagayan, but these are special circumstances.
Under laws that established ecozones in Aurora and Cagayan, offshore gambling was specifically listed as among those qualified for perks. In fact, POGOs are limited to these two areas prior to 2016 when President Duterte liberalized the sector to allow operations nationwide.
Benedict Tugonon, a tax lawyer and former president of Tax Management Association of the Philippines, lays out the difference between POGOs and BPOs in tax regime.
Essentially, he said many things remain “unclear” as to how POGOs operate and therefore how they are taxed.
Essentially, he said many things remain “unclear” as to how POGOs operate and therefore how they are taxed.
Another tax lawyer, Eleanor Roque, head of tax advisory at P&G Grant Thorton, says she “can’t think of similarities” between POGOs and BPOs as far as taxation is concerned.
Correction on last tweet: That’s P&A Grant Thornton auditing firm.
