Metrobank collects P8.2B in taxes

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the country’s biggest lender in terms of resources, collected a total P8.2 billion worth of tax payments in 2005, more than doubled the amount collected the previous year.

The collections were made through Taxdirect, Metrobank’s online tax payment facility.

Taxdirect allows Metrobank’s corporate clients to file income tax returns and pay other taxes via the Internet utilizing the Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

More than 2,000 corporate clients are enrolled in Metrobank’s Taxdirect service, with online transactions reaching close to 60,000 last year.

Transactions include payment of monthly remittance returns of income taxes withheld on compensation, monthly and quarterly value-added tax returns, and annual income tax returns, among others.

"More corporations are inclined to make use of online tax payment systems through agent banks like Metrobank. Taxdirect is efficient and very convenient to use. The system is accessible 24/7, ensuring continuous service for users," said Bernardito M. Lapuz, Metrobank senior vice president and head of corporate planning.

Enrollment and usage of the system are free of charge. To use, just log on to www.metrobank.com.ph and go to the Taxdirect main page.

With the government’s drive to improve tax collections, it needs all the help it can get and Metrobank was one of the first banks to respond to the government’s call for support," Lapuz said.

For its part, the BIR has seen an increase in the use of its eFPS in recent years. In 2004 alone, about 50 percent of the P233.4 billion revenues collected by the agency came through the eFPS. There are about 12,500 registered individual and corporate taxpayers that regularly use the facility and around 9,500 of these regularly pay thru eFPS.

Metrobank is one of the first banks to forge partnerships with various government agencies to facilitate collections and help meet their target revenues.

Apart from the BIR, other agencies that have tapped Metrobank for its collection agreement services are Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Pag-IBIG, Bureau of Customs, Metro Manila Development Authority, and National Statistics Office / Helpline Plus.