EVERY TIME COMPLAINTS and clamors to ban an addictive vice or activity is being raised, the government’s stock answer is to tax them so that revenues can be raised and regulation, no matter if just a token control, can be imposed on the source of addiction.
Take the case of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator or POGO. It took years and so many debates and congressional hearings with proposals raised to tax the sector even more and to tighten the noose on it. Yet, just like a bacteria it grew until so big that the government could not even decide where to attack it to stop it, if not just cut the size of its operations.
When it was finally banned, the POGOs had been involved in so many crimes like human trafficking, forced labor, killings, kidnappings and money laundering. Even if the government reportedly earned billions of tax revenues, it turned out that such revenues did not really materialize to the extent reported, but just token taxes. Someone obviously earned so much from such an expanded operation to be able to live beyond this lifetime.
‘(The) President wants online gaming/gambling taxed alongside proposals to limit digital gambling to prevent their harm to society is just another half-baked strategy that won’t solve the problem at all.’
THE VAPE EPIDEMIC
Another example is VAPE, which is now gripping even youngsters– high school and even younger– but pretty soon we would be gripped by a respiratory epidemic that is even worse than the pollution we derive from tobacco and gasoline combined. The government’s quick reaction is to tax the VAPE sellers.
Another is the esabong, which is now hogging headlines because of sabungeros who disappeared and were killed and dumped in Laguna Lake or some river. This one was banned, albeit too late, and has victimized peasants (farmers, fisherfolk, rural women/children) who sell or pawn their farms just to be able to bet on esabong, with no chance of winning at all.
Taxing such vices won’t stop them, nor would it have any effect in the malaise they bring to society because operators and perpetrators of such vices can just pay token taxes, while those addicted to them won’t be controlled in being hooked to them.
The answer lies in completely banning it, period. No in-betweens.
TAXING eGAMBLING
Reports that the President wants online gaming/gambling taxed alongside proposals to limit digital gambling to prevent their harm to society is just another half-baked strategy that won’t solve the problem at all.
Proposed by the Department of Finance, the tax would help restrict online gambling (I beg to disagree vehemently) through legislation to push for more revenues. Taxing egambling is tantamount to approving its continued operation.
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto last week said they will propose an online gaming tax and are also studying other policy options “to deter unimpeded and practically unrestricted access to gambling, particularly digital gambling platforms.”
These include imposing limits on playing time or cash-in to help prevent addiction, age restrictions, as well as displaying clear warnings about the risks of gambling, Recto said. Let’s see.
The government is also ramping up its crackdown on unlicensed and illegal online gaming sites. Good luck on this. The government can’t control cybercrimes and hacking, and now it would crack down on egambling.
Economist Reinielle Matt M. Erece at Oikonomia Advisory and Research, Inc., said the DoF’s tax proposal is a “good way to increase government revenues,” reported Business World.
“The (online gambling) industry is growing quickly. Whether it curbs gambling addiction is hard to answer, as it requires proper intervention and programs to promote responsible gaming,” he said.
He added that an online gaming tax can serve as a barrier for new players while helping the government fund its programs.
SILENT EPIDEMIC
Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said that he is seeking an outright ban on online gambling platforms, calling the rise of gambling addiction a “silent epidemic,” especially among the youth.
“The taxes earned are not worth the social cost. The lives of our countrymen are being ruined, families are fighting, crime is rising, and they are drowning in debt” and that the “foregone revenues from the outright ban may reach P47 billion annually,” he added.
Senate Bill 142, seeks to ban online gambling on mobile gadgets. Internet service providers are also mandated to limit public access to online gambling platforms and applications. It also seeks to prohibit electronic wallets and other digital payment systems from being used on online gaming platforms.
GRAY MARKET
Listed gaming technology provider DFNN, Inc. said that restrictions on online gambling platforms might force lower-income players to turn to unlicensed platforms.
“Well-intended restrictions, if not carefully calibrated across distinct gaming formats, may unintentionally create incentives for certain segments of the population, particularly casual or lower-income players, to seek alternatives from unlicensed or offshore platforms,” DFNN said adding that “these grey market operations, which often exist beyond regulatory reach and with non-existent player safeguards, could undermine the very protections that the legislation seeks to reinforce.”
#onlinegambling
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#thephinsider