The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), that country’s gaming regulator, favors a bill that would cut the tax on casino win from 20 percent to 15 percent whenever the total exceeds PHP10,000 (US$177.65).
At a public hearing before the Senate Ways and Means Committee on January 30, PAGCOR representative Arnold Salvosa said the market’s “nearest competitors—Singapore and Macau—do not impose any tax (on casino winnings). They treat casino winnings as windfall, and not as income.”
Trimming the tax could make the Philippines’ land-based casinos more appealing to Asian gamblers, said Salvosa, assistant vice president of PAGCOR’s corporate services department.
In addition, according to Asia Gaming Brief, the proposed Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA) would increase compliance.
Winnings under PHP10,000 are subject to the usual individual income tax, AGB reported.
In 2023, PAGCOR reaped net gaming revenues of PHP73.1 billion (US$1.30 billion), up 32.8 percent year-on-year and about 6.75 percent higher than the target set by the Department of Budget and Management.
