A day after deadline, taxpayers still troop to BIR to file ITRs

A day after the April 16 deadline for the filing income tax returns (ITRs) passed, many tax filers still trooped to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Quezon City on Tuesday.   According to radio dzBB's Allan Gatus, those who went to the BIR on Tuesday included those who already lined up to pay their taxes on Monday but were not accommodated due to the large number of taxpayers. They were given stubs to indicate that they were exempted from penalties and surcharges because they were already present at the BIR on the day of the tax deadline. BIR commissioner Kim Henares on Monday said sanctions await those who file their ITRs late, as well as those who put in wrong information in their forms.   In an interview on dzBB radio Monday, Henares said those who file their ITRs late may have to pay a surcharge of 25 percent and an interest of 20 percent per annum.   Meanwhile, at the BIR office in Pasig City, dzBB's Glen Juego reported on Tuesday that many taxpayers also showed up to file their ITRs. Juego said the taxpayers cited various reasons for not being able to beat the April 16 deadline such as being on vacation out of town to not knowing that the deadline had already lapsed on Monday. - VVP, GMA News