Splitting of BIR Revenue Region No. 9

Govt eases rules on tax payment by credit card

posted February 15, 2017 at 07:47 pm by  Julito G. Rada [manilastandard.net]

The government gave taxpayers a leeway on paying their taxes through credit, debit or prepaid cards.

The Finance Department said in a statement banks would be held liable and penalized for the delay or non-remittance of taxes paid by taxpayers through credit, debit or prepaid cards.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III approved the amendments to Bureau of Internal Revenue Regulation No. 3-2016 issued by the previous administration.  The old regulation made the taxpayer using credit, debit or prepaid card liable if the authorized agent banks failed to remit the tax payment to BIR on time.

Dominguez’s directive would benefit primarily the self-employed taxpayers and owners of micro, small and medium enterprises who usually line up for hours at the BIR to pay their taxes.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III

Under the new revenue regulation that was recommended for approval by BIR commissioner Caesar Dulay, the payment of taxes done credit, debit or automated teller machine and/or prepaid cards should be deemed paid by the taxpayer on the date and time appearing in the system-generated confirmation receipt issued by the authorized agent banks.

“The AAB [authorized agent bank] will then be the one held liable in case of late remittance or non-remittance of such tax payments to the BIR,” the department said.

“The liability to pay the tax rests upon the AAB-acquirer considering that from the time of issuance of a valid confirmation receipt to the taxpayer-cardholder, the AAB-acquirer becomes the trustee of the government with the obligation to remit the payment on time to the BIR,” it said.

Finance undersecretary Antonette Tionko said the new system was a reasonable approach “considering that the taxpayer has no control over the actual remittance of the payment to the BIR other than securing a valid confirmation receipt and ensuring that his/her tax payment is paid through a legitimate AAB of the BIR.”

Tionko, who  heads the DOF’s revenue operations group, said the new rule was consistent with the memorandum of agreement among the BIR, Bureau of Treasury  and the authorized banks, whose obligation to collect, “carries with it the responsibility to remit accurately and on time such collections to the BTr.”

Tionko said the AAB was responsible for holding the tax payments “in a fiduciary capacity for the account of the national government, which should be considered as separate from the other funds in its custody.”

Tionko said that under the agreement, banks should pay penalties for late remittance, under remittance, and non-remittance of the accepted tax payments.

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House OK’s estate tax amnesty

By Raynan F. Javil

Posted on February 14, 2017 [ bworldonline.com ]

THE HOUSE of Representatives last night approved on third and final reading two measures that separately seek to grant a one-time amnesty and impose a single rate for estate tax.

File photo of the House of Representatives

   

Approved were House Bill (HB) No. 4814, or the proposed Estate Tax Amnesty Law, and HB 4815 which sets a single rate compared to the current range.

Aside from contributing to an overall increase in much-needed revenues, HB 4814 is designed to free up properties -- otherwise encumbered by liability on the part of delinquents -- for productive use.

The proposed law seeks to grant the following immunities and privileges to taxpayers who avail of the planned amnesty: immunity from civil, criminal or administrative penalties; estate tax amnesty returns for 2016 and prior years will not be admissible as evidence in judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative proceedings; and books of accounts and other records of the taxpayers for the years covered by the amnesty will not be examined.

The amnesty will cover estate tax liabilities up to the year 2016.

Collection of appropriate estate taxes has been elusive for the Bureau of Internal Revenue, with the past administration estimating that annual take could actually go up to P10-50 billion from less than P1 billion currently.

Estate tax amnesty measures in the Senate are still pending before the Senate ways and means committee, chaired by Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara.

On the other hand, HB 4815 seeks to impose a single tax rate of six percent.

The National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 exempts from tax a net estate value of up to P200,000, and levies 5%, 8%, 11%, 15% and 20% depending on which bracket the property belongs.

Those who will avail of amnesty will just pay a six percent tax on the value of the property concerned, sans penalties and sanctions otherwise provided by law.

A similar proposal to impose a single six percent amnesty tax is part of the Finance department-backed comprehensive tax reform package filed by House ways and means committee chairman Rep Dakila Carlo E. Cua (Quirino) as HB 4774.

Mr. Cua said in a telephone interview last night that the similar provision in the tax package will stay for now as HB 4815 is not yet enacted since it will now have to go to the Senate.

The Constitution provides that all tax laws should emanate from the House.

“Hindi pa naman kailangan tanggalin kasi hindi pa naman batas and it has to go through the Senate pa. Hindi rin naman contradicting (There is no need to remove it from the tax package because it is not yet a law and it has to go through the Senate. The provisions are not contradicting),” said Mr. Cua.

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