BIR to pros: We mean business

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) means business when they said they will go after professionals who do not pay the correct taxes.

Hermeno A. Palamine, BIR regional director, said his office will soon generate the names of accountants, lawyers and doctors who did not file their income tax returns and press them to pay up.

Palamine made the statement as the BIR on Monday put out an advertisement in national dailies citing statistics of tax liaiblities of professionals in Cebu and Davao.

“The data is all available in our computers. As you can see, there is a low compliance rate by our doctors, lawyers and accountants which we want to address,” he said.

In the advertisement, BIR noted only 262 accountants or about half of the 556 registered self-employed accountants in Cebu filed income tax returns while only 22 paid their value-added taxes.

Of the 2,825 doctors, only 1,675 or 59.3 percent filed income tax returns while only 8.4 percent paid value-added taxes.

Only 52.7 percent of the 805 registered self-employed lawyers in Cebu filed their income tax returns while only 2 percent paid value-added taxes.

Last May, the BIR filed tax evasion charges against several professionals, prominent among them was Dr. Potenciano Sto. Domingo Larrazabal III.

Palamine said that they will investigate those who failed to file their income tax returns and know why they were not able to comply with their tax obligations. “The main purpose of the ad is to make them aware that we are already closely monitoring and we are serious with our drive to encourage everyone to pay taxes. File their correct income tax returns,” said Palamine. He added that the doctors, lawyers and accountants should be at the forefront and be a role model to every Filipinos to do their duty to the country and pay their taxes.

“It is very unfair to the employed individuals whose income tax returns are automatically deducted by their employers and remitted to BIR. They, the self-employed, should do their part as well and pay taxes,” he said.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City chapter is calling on the BIR to hold a forum to encourage more lawyers to register and pay proper taxes.  “IBP has always recognize the duty of our professionals not only the lawyer with regards to payment of taxes, we know the role of tax as it served of course as the life blood of the government,” said Elaine Bathan, president of the IBP Cebu City chapter. /Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap and correspondent Apple Ta-as