Senate panel losing patience on BIR

By: Maila Ager - 10 years ago

Bureau of Internal Revenue building. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – A Senate panel has issued an ultimatum to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to submit within two weeks its projected revenue losses on various measures that seek to lower individual and corporate income tax rate, among others.

Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on ways and means, issued the ultimatum after the BIR failed anew to submit on Tuesday the documents requested by the body eight months ago.

“Kung hindi talaga binigay sa susunod na hearing, mapipilitan tayong i-subpoena duces tecum, meaning sapilitan ‘yung pagbigay ng document saka datos,” Angara told reporters after the hearing.

(If they still don’t give it in the next hearing, we will be forced to issue subpoena duces tecum, meaning they will be forced to submit the documents and the data)

“Kapag hindi binigay in two weeks (If they don’t give it in two weeks), we will issue the subpoena,” he said.

Angara said the agency would be penalized should it refuse to submit to the committee the requested documents.

The senator lamented that the BIR was only quick to provide records when it comes to raising tax revenues but not on the issue of lowering tax impositions.

And the government’s failure to submit the data, he said, has been delaying the approval of pending measures in the Senate.

“Nakakadelay talaga kasi mahirap magdesisyon dahil gusto naming mga senador, pag nagdesisyon kami, alam namin ‘yung totoong mararamdaman ng ating pamahalaan at ano ‘yung benepisyong mararamdaman ng ating mga kababayan,” he said.

(It has been a cause of delay for us senators who want to decide knowing what the government feels and what benefits our constituents will get.)

Asked what could be the motive behind the delay in the submission of the documents, Angara said, “Well sa ngayon, we’re till giving them the benefit of the doubt pero ‘yun nga medyo nawawalan na kami ng pasensya dito (For now, we’re still giving them the benefit of the doubt, but we’re losing our patience).”