Baguio transport operators fined for not filing quarterly tax

BAGUIO CITY — Operators of public utility vehicles here were penalized for failing to file quarterly taxes, a transport leader said on Thursday.

The operators have since negotiated to bring down fines from P3,000 to P1,900 with the help of the city council.

The amount covers the penalty for not paying taxes from 2016 to 2017 (P900) and the first quarter of 2018 (P1,000).

Rey Bacoco, a member of the United Metro Baguio-Benguet Jeepney Federation and the Cordillera UV Express Van Federation, said some 300 operators of passenger jeepneys, taxis, commuter vans, and school services agreed to pay the amount in a compromise deal with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Antonio Jonathan Jaminola, BIR OIC Cordillera director, said Section 74 B of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 requires transport operators to remit quarterly taxes.

When he assumed office in April, he said he did not know why the quarterly tax had not been collected from transport operators.

Bacoco said operators have been paying a monthly percentage tax and an annual income tax.

“We have never paid quarterly taxes, but the BIR has been issuing us tax clearances for the past 8 years,” he said. “So we were shocked when the BIR suddenly told us that we have to pay fines… all these years we thought we paid all the necessary taxes,” he said.

Bacoco said some operators opted to pay the P3,000 fine even before the compromise deal with the BIR was reached to secure their tax clearance for the year, which is a prerequisite for the renewal of their public transport franchise. /ee

READ: BIR to run after PUV operators