MANILA, Philippines—Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV has asked the Senate to look into the alleged failure of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to act expeditiously on pending tax refund claims.
Trillanes filed a resolution calling the Senate committee on finance to investigate the matter to help address the gaps in the rules and regulations of the BIR pertaining to tax refunds and claims.
“Tax refund procedures are very tedious and cumbersome. The process of claiming tax refund could take several months just for a revenue officer to be assigned to process the claim,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
The senator noted that after several reviews and documentation, the taxpayer still has to undergo a tax audit, a process which often leads to the filing of tax deficiency against the claimant.
“Instead of refunding the claims, the taxpayer is required to pay the tax deficiency before receiving the tax refund or tax credit,” he said.
Trillanes cited numerous complaints, mostly from men in uniform, expressing dismay over BIR’s lengthy process of filing a claim particularly the bureau’s issuance of Tax Credit Certificates (TCCs) instead of paying cash to claimants entitled for refunds.
“This fact perpetually affects the morale of the Filipino soldiers and civilians in general because they feel that they are being ‘cheated’ and short-changed by the government when it comes to money the government actually owes them,” said the senator.
Trillanes reminded the BIR about the Supreme Court opinion stating that “If the State expects its taxpayers to observe fairness and honesty in paying their taxes, it must hold itself against the same standard in refunding excess or erroneous payments of such taxes. It should not enrich itself at the expense of the taxpayers.”
“We should balance state’s interest of maintaining its lifeblood through taxes against the contravening interest of our taxpayers claiming refund. In doing so, we must put into consideration the values of fairness and justice,” he further said.