BIR starts TIN issuance to foreign POGO workers

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has completed the registration of some 10,000 foreign workers in the offshore gaming industry, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

In an interview, Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko said the BIR has so far issued Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) to around 10,000 foreigners employed by Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO).

“They are still reconciling the numbers, but so far 10,000 TINs. I think that’s just only in Parañaque, Manila and Pasay,” Tionko told reporters.

While the bureau is making progress, Tionko and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said there are still certain limitations, as the BIR cannot handle TIN applications in bulk.

Initial estimates show there are about 138,000 alien workers in the local POGO industry, and Dominguez said majority of them may still be unregistered.

Dominguez said these employees, who are concentrated in a few areas, have flocked to the offices of the BIR to request for their TINs after the government intensified its efforts to capture them in its tax base.

Due to this, the finance chief said the government’s withholding tax collections from foreign POGO workers may stream in gradually.

“We will start collecting this month, but then we will not collect everything from everybody,” he said.

Nevertheless, Dominguez said the BIR has assured the DOF that it would be able to complete the process soon.

On the issue of the taxability of POGO employees based on their residency, Tionko said the burden lies on the company to prove that their employees are staying in the country long enough to be considered as residents.