Government’s share from Pagcor
slips to P5B in first half
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) turned over P5.04 billion to the government as part of its share in the gaming agency’s earning during the first six months of the year, treasury data showed.
Pagcor’s remittance from January to June retreated by P448 million from the P5.488 billion that the agency remitted in the same period in 2009.
Pagcor’s June remittance to the government, however, climbed 3,740 percent to P920 million from P23.96 million in the same month last year.
The gaming agency remitted about P9.88 billion last year, below the P11 billion it turned over as part of the government’s share in 2008. In 2007, Pagcor contributed P10.31 billion to state coffers.
As a government-owned and controlled corporation, Pagcor is required by Republic Act 7656 or the Dividend Law to remit at least 50 percent of its annual gross earnings to the government.
Pagcor operates 13 agency-run Casino Filipino facilities and has four licensed casinos – Fontana Casino in Pampanga, East Bay Casino in Rizal, Poro Point Casino in La Union and Fort Stotsenberg also in Pampanga.
The finance department, the Bureau of Internal Revenues (BIR) and the National Tax Research Center (NTRC), meanwhile, is pressing Pagcor to pay corporate income tax pursuant to Republic Act 9337 or the Reformed Value Added Tax law.
The law deleted Pagcor from the coverage of government-owned and controlled corporations that are exempt from income tax.
The government also wants to impose VAT on Pagcor, saying VAT had already replaced the 5 percent franchise tax imposed on the corporation.
Furthermore, the government wants Pagcor to clearly define its basis for gross income tax computation. According to Pagcor, this translates to a reduction of about P1.048 billion yearly.
The NTRC said the government should require Pagcor to declare all its income as profit and thus, remit a bigger amount to the government.
Pagcor booked an unaudited P29.78 billion annual income in 2009, against P29.61 billion income in 2008.
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