BIR, USAid, DEVCON team up to host hackathon tax compliance software dev’t

The government has partnered with the private sector to host the HACKATAX innovation challenge which aims to develop technology solutions that will help the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in its tax collection mandate.

In a press conference in Quezon City, BIR Commissioner Lanee David said the agency has teamed up with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Developers Connect Philippines (DEVCON).

“We want to leverage with the IT experts, the IT enthusiasts on the technology. We have to admit that we are undermanned in the BIR so we cannot compare our capabilities to those in the private sector,” she told reporters.

The HACKATAX competition urges participants to develop solutions addressing taxpayer pain points when transacting with the BIR, from registration, to filing and payment of taxes, and engaging other frontline services.

“We want to brainstorm and develop new solutions that will help the BIR and eventually help you, kasi you are the taxpayers,” David said.

Applicants may submit their proposals until 12:00 p.m. on November 15. The participants will be narrowed down to 10 finalists to be announced on November 22, 2019.

A final bootcamp will be held on January 25, 2020 for the finalists to refine their presentation, with the final pitching scheduled on January 26, 2020.

The winning solutions are expected to be launched to the public in February 2020—the top three teams will receive monetary and in-kind prizes, with the champion set to receive startup incubation support from the tech partners.

“If you are able to do this, you will have your own software company na after this, a production ready product by March,” said Winston Damarillo, DEVCON founder and president. —VDS, GMA News