Pagcor to remit P1-B corporate income tax to BIR

MANILA -- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) will remit over a billion peso in corporate income tax last year to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), an official said.

Pagcor, which is tasked to regulate casino gaming operations in the country, will be paying a total of P1.07 billion to BIR after it raked in a whopping P40.88 billion total income last year—its strongest income performance in its 27-year history, said Pagcor Chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr.

"This is the first time ever that our agency has become part of the billionaires club in terms of corporate income tax payments," he noted.

"We support the BIR's tax collection campaign since this is one of the government's basic sources in funding its various developmental programs," Naguiat said.

According to the Pagcor chief, the state-owned gaming firm's total payments to the BIR for 2012 would reach P5.5 billion.

"This includes the P1.07 billion corporate income tax, P1.37 billion representing the five percent franchise tax from our gaming operations, P2.32 billion in franchise tax collections from Pagcor's licensees, and P778 million in withholding taxes," he added.

With this staggering amount, Pagcor is expected to remain in the list of the top government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) taxpayers for 2012.

Based on the Commission on Audit (COA) Annual Report for 2011, Pagcor ranked third among top government corporate taxpayers with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) topping the list and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm Corp)., landing second. The BSP paid BIR P26.7 billion in income, withholding and other taxes in 2011.

Meanwhile, Psalm Corp. and Pagcor paid the BIR P5.5 billion and P4.98 billion, respectively, in corporate income and other taxes in the same year. (SDR/Sunnex)