BIR offices told to provide drop boxes

MANILA, Philippines - Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Lilian B. Hefti has ordered all offices in direct contact with taxpayers to provide suggestion or complaint boxes to improve revenue collections and enhance taxpayers’ compliance. In revenue memorandum order no. 18-2008, Ms. Hefti said all offices will have two suggestion or complaint boxes each labeled "for the head office to read" and "for the commissioner of Internal Revenue to read." "Every month, staff from the commissioner’s office shall collate the contents of these suggestion/complaint boxes, particularly the one labeled ’for the CIR (commissioner of Internal Revenue) to read,’" she wrote. All offices are also mandated to give survey sheets to taxpayers that they can fill in and drop in the appropriate boxes. The tax agency has collection goal of P844.95 billion for the year, up 18.41% from last year’s actual collection of P713.6 billion. Out of this year’s collection goal, P810.31 billion is for BIR operations and P34.64 billion is for non-BIR operations based on the Budget and Expenditures Sources of Financing for 2008 and National Government Revenue Program. — Ruby Anne M. Rubio, BusinessWorld