BIR urges taxpayers to beat ITR filing deadline, pay taxes

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) officials are reminding taxpayers to file and pay taxes today, the last day for the filing of their income tax returns.

Authorized agent banks of the BIR will extend operation hours until 5 p.m. today, said Queenie Auditor, BIR head for Taxpayers Assistance Unit.

BIR Regional Director Rodita Galanto also said that the BIR region 7 has also put in place several measures to ensure taxpayers can easily file and pay their taxes.

“We have setup filing systems in major malls in Cebu like SM, Ayala, Country Mall, Gaisano Metro, Emall, Parkmall and JCenter Mall, we have been conducting seminars and information drives every week in different municipalities to keep them informed and we already have the electronic filing system where they can file and pay their taxes right at the comforts of their home through the Internet,” said Galanto during last Thursday’s Kapihan sa PIA at the Philippine Information Agency office.

She said that the bureau were working hard to ensure that the taxpayers would be well informed.

She said she was optimistic of hitting the office’s targets for the year.

Targets and Performance

“RDO 80 or Cebu City North has a goal of P4.6 billion, RDO 81 or Mandaue City at P5.4 billion, RDO 82 or Cebu City South is at P1.8 billion, Talisay City with P1.2 billion and P1.1 billion for Bohol,” she said.

Overall the total target for all the five districts under BIR 7 this year is at P14.37 billion.

“Our regional target for the first quarter is at P3.2 billion and based on our last counting, we have already collected P2.9 billion which will still go higher because we’re not done with the whole month of March yet,” said Galanto.

This figure however was 10 percent or P279,000 higher than that of their collections last year, said Galanto.

Selected Professionals

The BIR will also look into intensify the tax collection from selected professionals including medical and dental practitioners, accountants, lawyers, engineers, real estate brokers and customs brokers.

Assistant Regional Director Conrado Lee of BIR 7 said the national government had given them a directive to look into these professionals.

Based on the data they gathered, there are 2,405 doctors and dentists in the region as of last year, 414 accountants, 636 lawyers, 575 engineers, 295 real estate brokers and 193 custom brokers.

“We have already conducted seminars with them and has told them to amend their ITRs for the previous years. After the deadline, we will be checking on who complied,” said Lee.

PROBE

“We will then be starting with the investigations should there be those that did not amend their ITRs because we have a five year data on their transactions and those that they have declared.”

Lee said the bureau collected only P3.1 billion from these professionals last year.

“The national government and DOJ (Department of Justice) think we are losing 50 percent of the supposed tax collection we get from them. That is why we were directed to start looking into their tax payments and conduct investigations when necessary,” said Lee.

Cases Filed

As of this year, the Special Investigation Division of BIR has already endorsed a tax fraud case for a home grown company based in Mandaue City, which has already a cased filed in the Department of Justice.

“This is to show that we are really serious. Tax collection is very important because it affects the development of our country,” said Galanto./Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap