Workers call out BIR: You owe us P20-B ‘illegally collected’ tax

Workers on Monday called out the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for not complying with a Supreme Court (SC) decision which ordered the bureau to return “illegally collected” tax from minimum-wage earners.

Stressing the urgent need to mitigate the impact of rising prices of goods and commodities, the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) demanded the immediate processing of tax refund claims worth P20 billion to minimum-wage workers.

The ALU-TUCP, in a statement, said that the BIR, an attached agency of the Department of Finance (DOF), was “unlawfully” collecting tax from minimum-wage workers in 2008.

The group recalled that for seven months in 2008, the BIR collected taxes on the wage, bonuses and other benefits from minimum-wage workers despite their exemption from paying taxes under Republic Act No. 9502.

The labor group said that on January 24, 2017, the SC issued a 56-page decision stating that minimum-wage workers should not be taxed because RA 9502, which became effective on June 17, 2008, exempted them from taxes.

“R.A 9502 became effective June 17, 2008. However, the BIR issued Revenue Regulation 10-2008 and have collected income tax from workers for 7 months before the agency suspended their collection,” it said.

Now, the labor group stressed that the BIR should return to minimum-wage workers P20-billion, which includes “the annual legal interest the money earned from 2008 to 2017.”

“Minimum wage earners need these additional cash money which they rightfully own in order to cope with the current incredible rising prices of commodities and surging costs of utilities and services,” said Michael Mendoza, national president of ALU.

“It’s workers’ blood money. We urge the BIR and DOF to return the money including the legal interests now. Until now, the BIR and DOF have not complied with the high court order for them to make a cash refund,” he said.

Likewise, ALU spokesman Alan Tanjusay lamented that they “cannot understand why the BIR and the DOF are quick to squeeze money from the workers but it takes forever for them to return what they illegally collected.”

“Mahiya naman kayo (Shame on you)! Those are workers’ blood money. Pinaghirapan ‘yan ng mga manggagawa, ibalik na ninyo (The workers toiled hard for that, return it)!” the spokesman said. /je