BIR to install documentary stamp meters in banks

The Bureau of Internal Revenue will soon be putting up documentary stamp tax (DST) metering machines in accredited banks and insurance companies to ensure prompt reporting and payment of documentary stamp taxes to the government.

This is one of the tax collection enhancement measures being pursued by the Arroyo administration to ensure that the BIR will be able to attain its tax collection goal of P408 billion (up from the previous administration’s goal of P398-billion).

BIR Commissioner Rene Banez told The STAR that funding for these machines will come mainly from the bureau’s budget for the year plus some relief on duties, in case this has to be imported.

Banez said the machines will replace the traditional system of documentary stamp payment, which was previously manually computed and paid at the central office or at the revenue regions or district offices.

"We have developed programs like online DST metering machines to capture at once the payment of documentary stamp tax from banks and insurance companies," Banez, who claims to have reluctantly accepted the post from President Arroyo two weeks ago, said.

He would not say how much they expect to collect from such metering machines, nor did he say had much they would cost. "It is hard to make an estimate of how much we expect to generate from this but this is of varying rates. Suffice to say this is the first time the bureau will be putting up such units," he added.

With this system, he said, it is assured that all DST payments will be captured appropriately and the bureau will be able to monitor all payments almost everyday, Banez said.

Banez said his second initiative is to develop a more quality tax audit, one that is based on industry profiles rather than guesstimates. "There should be a more scientific way of identifying taxpayers to be audited based on data of industry profiles," he stressed.

Third, he said, is expanding the list of large taxpayers being monitored and audited by the large taxpayers service (LTS) of the BIR currently covering 730 large taxpayers. He said he wants this increased to 1,200 to 1,300. But the increase will be more on the basis of income, sales and a more quality monitoring and auditing program to be implemented by the LTS.

He said the contribution of the LTS to total collection right now is 57 percent – which includes collection made by the excise taxpayers service which had been consolidated with LTS since last year. The balance of 43 percent comes from the 19 revenue regions of which seven revenue regions comprise 35 percent. The top performers among the revenue regions are: Makati, Manila, Valenzuela, Quezon City, Cebu, San Pablo and San Fernando, Banez said.

The remaining six percent (of the 43 percent) comes from the collection of another six revenue regions.

Banez said his short term goal is to be able to raise revenues so that National Government can pursue its mission of delivering basic social services but in the long term "we have to amend the tax laws that will be consistent with existing conditions."

He said he would be revisiting the Philippine tax system in the hope that as comprehensive and more responsive tax law can be put in place to address current situations and current problems.