No TINs, no taxes: BIR goes after motels
Bureau of Internal Revenue building
MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is going after motels in the country that are apparently not remitting taxes.
Without giving away names, the BIR said 14 motels were so far found to have no tax identification numbers (TINs). This meant they were not registered taxpayers.
The number may increase as the tax bureau continues with its audit of the motel industry.
“Based on preliminary reviews, a total of 14 have no TINs,” the BIR said in its latest weekly “Tax Watch” campaign.
Under the campaign, the BIR publishes tax payments of enterprises belonging to certain industries on a weekly basis through newspaper ads. The objective is to discourage tax delinquency.
These motels were the following: Bali-Hai Travelodge, Eurotel, Nice Hotel and Town & Country in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
The BIR noted the innate difficulty in auditing tax compliance of motels, adding that unlike other businesses, motels were usually not asked by their customers to issue receipts.
Given this backdrop, the BIR wants motel operators to accurately report their incomes and pay the corresponding taxes.
The BIR, likewise, published the top-taxpaying motels and hotels in the same print ad.
Mariposa declared the biggest amount of tax liability for 2012 at P73.51 million.
The four others constituting the top-5 paying motels were: Anito Lodge with P15.25 million, Microtel Inn & Suites with P9.82 million, Victoria Court with P7.17 million and Hotel Sogo with P2.36 million.
The BIR likewise reported the top taxpaying hotels: Crimson Hotel Filinvest City declared the highest amount of tax due for 2012 at P354.19 million.
It outperformed Makati Shangri-La, Edsa Shangri-La, Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa, and Ascott Makati. These four hotels declared income tax liabilities of P196.75 million, P83.55 million, P75.06 million and P55.55 million, respectively.
The BIR noted that Mariposa motel declared a higher income tax due compared to Ascott hotel.
“The motel Mariposa has a 2012 income tax due of P17.96 million, higher than [that of] luxury hotel Ascott Manila,” the BIR said.
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