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hilippine President Rodrigo Duterte asked lawmakers to approve a bill that sets income and gaming taxes on online casinos. Under the Senate bill, offshore gaming operators must pay 5% tax on their gross gaming revenue.
In a statement released Monday, the presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that the bill was designated as “urgent” by the president.
According to Senator Pia Cayetano, the measure’s sponsor, the bill will also require foreigners employed in online casinos and their service providers to pay 25% income tax.
Roque said in a statement Monday: “We hope that this measure would not only generate the much-needed revenues in the country but also place the industry under stricter government oversight.”
The Philippines is looking at ways to wind down debt, including new revenue sources, as the budget deficit outlook for this year and next have been widened, as reported by BNNBloomberg.
