BIR to get SSS help to fight tax evasion

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) plans to get help from state pension fund Social Security System in its fight against tax evasion. BIR Commissioner Jose Mario Bunag said on Tuesday the tax agency would get data from SSS regarding the number of employees to determine the amount of taxes a specific employer is supposed to remit to the national government. "We will get the name of the employer and the name of the employees to know what is the withholding tax and income tax of the employees," he said. The BIR chief added that the agency is also keen on expanding its third-party information linkages by tying up with other agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Land Registration Authority (LRA), Land Transportation Office (LTO), and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). The additional information from third party would bolster BIR's tax evasion campaign under Operation RATE (Run After Tax Evaders) wherein more than 30 cases have been filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ). Bunag also said the Swedish International Development Agency has committed to extend a $2-million grant to the BIR to improve its statistics and revenue forecasting. The amount is on top of the $13 million loan extended by the World Bank for the computerization and the training of BIR personnel and the $9.4 million grant from the Millennium Challenge Account of the US government to strengthen the agency’s Operation RATE. "Now we have the money, we are confident that we shall be able to exceed our target for the year and as well as sustain all these projections in the coming years," Buñag said. - GMANews.TV