|
THE
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it has ordered an
audit of firms previously on the list of its large
taxpayer service, or LTS.
In a
memorandum that will take effect this month, the bureau
said it had authorized its divisions on national
investigation and policy cases to conduct a financial
audit of firms that were delisted from the roster of the
LTS and returned to their respective revenue district
offices.
These
firms, also known as “big fishes,” have not been audited
by the agency since 2006, the bureau said.
“The
deputy commissioner for Legal and Inspection Group is
hereby authorized to select, from the attached list of
delisted taxpayers, the taxpayers that may be issued
letter of authority for the tax audit…of taxpayer’s tax
liabilities for taxable year 2006,” according to the BIR
memo.
The LTS
operates as a separate service line with full
operational and service functions and reports directly
to the BIR commissioner. It was first conceptualized in
1998 on the premise that large taxpayers require
“special” handling as a group compared with small and
midsized taxpayers assigned under the BIR’s district
offices.
The
group consists of top corporations and multinationals
and whose shares are traded on the stock exchange. These
companies contribute 65 percent to 70 percent of the
bureau’s revenue collection.
To be on
the LTS list, however, is difficult for a company. Firms
are subjected to stricter monitoring, compelled to
report on time and used to pilot-test certain systems
under development. And on top of those difficulties, LTS
collection targets are increasing by at least 20 percent
each year.
“…No
wonder…some taxpayers prefer not to be [on the list]
even if it [is] something to be proud [of],” according
to a recent analysis of Benedicta Du-Baladad, a tax
partner of auditing firm Punongbayan & Araullo.
Early
this year the bureau—which accounts for two-thirds of
the national revenues—decided to pare the number of
firms in the group down to a “manageable size” so it
would be able to work efficiently on its task.
The move
caused confusion among firms that were stricken off the
list as in what being delisted would mean and what
changes their new status could bring to the company.
Some
bureau officials were also asking what their new roles
would be in the light of such a move.
Firms
stricken off the list are now supposed to report to
district offices assigned by BIR, but there won’t be any
change on the manner of reporting and paying taxes,
commissioner Lilian Hefti earlier said.
Manila
is targeting to collect P1.236 trillion this year. The
bureau is responsible for 76 percent of amount
equivalent to P844.95 billion. The balance would come
from the Bureau of Customs (P254 billion), Bureau of
Treasury (P57 billion) and other offices (P80 billion),
of which P30 billion will come from proceeds of the
government’s privatization program.
Collections during the first three months of the year
reached P163 billion. The target for the period set by
the inter-agency Development Budget Coordinating
Committee was P160 billion. |
