PAGCOR had hinted at new fees
Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc., which operates the multibillion-dollar Solaire Casino Resort in Manila’s Entertainment City, says the Supreme Court of the Philippines has responded favorably to its petition to keep the nation’s Bureau of Internal Revenue from taxing casino operations.
ABC-CBN News reports that the ruling was dated August 10 but not released until early September. The high court agreed with Bloomberry that its contract with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. makes it subject only to a 5 percent franchise tax on gross gaming revenue “in lieu of all taxes.”
In a recent filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Bloomberry stated, “The Supreme Court granted the certiorari petition against the imposition of a corporate income tax by the Bureau of Internal Revenue on Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels as a licensed casino operator of PAGCOR.
“This decision will allow PAGCOR and Bloomberry to revert to the original license fee structure of 15 percent and 25 percent license fee (inclusive of the 5 percent franchise tax) for high rollers/junket and mass gaming respectively,” the firm said.
In June, shortly after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took office, his newly appointed PAGCOR administration announced that it was canceling the tax cut offered to casino operators by the previous administration. The regulator said that effective immediately, four Entertainment City casino operators, including Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc., Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., MCE Leisure (Philippines) Corp. and Tiger Resorts Leisure and Entertainment Inc., would be ordered to pay the original license fee rate.
