BIR mulls collecting taxes from Indian nationals

KIDAPAWAN CITY — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) here admitted it was itching to collect taxes from Indian nationals involved in money lending activities but admitted it was not easy to do so.

There are at least a dozen Indian nationals suspected to be involved in money lending activities – mostly to small entrepreneurs here – according to Venerando Homez, revenue district officer.

Homez said they were certain the Indian nationals were not paying taxes and that they did not have business permits.

At least a dozen Indian nationals lending capital to small business establishments particularly restaurants, sari-sari stores and vegetable vendors can be seen roaming around the major thoroughfares during the afternoon to collect the daily payments from the debtors, he said.

Homez said their problem was how to build up cases against the Indian nationals.

“Only the Economic Intelligence Investigation Bureau (EIIB) based in the BIR main office had the authority to reprimand or invite foreign money lenders operating in various places in the country,” he said.

The problem was that this office had been dissolved, Homez said.

The only recourse, Homez said, was for the BIR to solicit testimonies from those who had borrowed money from the foreign lenders.

“We will be facing a difficult task but we will do our best to run after these Indian nationals in Kidapawan and other towns in North Cotabato,” Homez said.

In Davao City, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte urged Indian nationals to follow the law if they wanted to stay in the country.

Indian nationals there had complained of arrests by Immigration agents.

“It’s the right of the country to protect itself against undesirable aliens, so, my advice to you is, just follow the law and you’ll be safe,” he said.

It was not clear how many Indian nationals lived in the city these days.

Even the BID admitted it was having difficulty in ascertaining their number because some of them reportedly entered the country through the so-called backdoor.

“There have been reports that some of them entered the country through Sabah and they remain unaccounted for,
hence, the raids in the past weeks,” Duterte said.