BIR abatement program rakes in P3B for govt

The abatement program of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which gives taxpayers sufficient time to settle all their delinquent accounts and assessments, has yielded P3 billion for the government since it was implemented September last year. BIR Commissioner Jose Mario Bunag on Monday said in a statement that the One-Time Administrative Abatement Program under Revenue Regulation 15-2006 implemented last September had a record collection of more than P3 billion. Under the program, taxpayers may settle any delinquent account or assessment by paying an amount equal to 100 percent of the basic tax assessed. Upon payment, the assessment for penalties, surcharges, and interest, as well as all pending cases, would be canceled. The program includes one-time transactions such as estate tax, donor’s tax, capital gains tax, final withholding tax, expanded withholding tax and documentary stamp tax on the transfer, sale, exchange, or disposition of assets. The program also covers taxpayers registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority who are enjoying preferential tax treatment. The BIR launched the program towards the end of September as another step towards collection and reduction of the agency’s account receivables and pending assessments. The program covers civil tax cases pending before the Department of Justice, lower courts, Court of Tax Appeals, Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court; collection cases filed with the courts; cases with pending requests for compromise settlement; cases with pending request for abatement; failure to withhold withholding tax; letter notices cases; criminal violations; and accounts payable to the BIR. Criminal tax fraud cases like those under Operation Rate (Run After Tax Evaders) are not covered by the program.-GMANews.TV