The new current acting Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres kicks off his leadership by directly proclaiming his support for the implementation of the five percent tax on campaign spending. “We intend to put in new measures in the withholding tax system, starting with the five percent tax on campaign spending,” Tan-Torres says. Revenue Regulation 8-09 requires all political candidates, political parties and contributors to register with the BIR as withholding agents. Some sectors fear that the administration might use this to their advantage by utilizing the campaign tax to intimidate opposition supporters.

Another tax enhancement measure that Tan-Torres expresses his desire to initiate the stricter observance of the income of retailers in bazaars during Christmas season. We will put up a tax monitoring system for bazaars and retail stores for the Christmas shopping season,” he said. “We will start plugging loopholes of forthcoming and existing tax incentives that dilute revenue generation.” The BIR says it has been making efforts to improve the implementation of the various taxes due to its missing of collection targets since the global financial crisis, which has dampened economic activities.

Tan-Torres’ predecessor Sixto Esquivias IV, who resigned reportedly for health reasons almost last week, also expressed his support to improve the BIR a month ago when he announced his support for Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s filing of the Senate Bill 3206, also known as the Tax Academy Bill. This bill supports the creation of a training institute for BIR officials, which aims to improve and develop the skills of BIR officials. “The establishment of the Philippine Tax Academy will directly help improve the BIR’s collection efficiency, lessen bureaucratic red tape, revive the integrity of the tax service and boost the morale and capability of the BIR personnel. More importantly, the measure has the overall effect of helping the BIR in its efforts to raise revenues and to arrest the current budget deficits,” Esquivas says.

~

Entrepreneurs Accounting Academy continues its offer of the Comprehensive Tax Seminar, which is constantly updated to reflect the latest tax developments that affect individuals, businesses, partnerships and corporations. Packed with real-life cases and essential tax information, this is a chance to straighten out any concerns or confusion you might have with tax matters.