Tax season

April 16 was the last day of payment of income tax returns, and as you can imagine, it was mayhem at all BIR offices. There was plenty of time to prepare and file the returns, but the deadline came right after the Holy Week, and right then and there, you had a whole week where the office machinery was out of commission, even if the holidays didn’t start until Maundy Thursday.

For those who did not make it to the deadline, there are other options you may explore. The Bureau of Internal Revenue has lately been on the ball in response to the public’s needs. Just before Lenten Week, they extended the deadline of one of their latest "amnesty" programs. This is the so-called Abatement Program where all penalties and surcharges can be waived upon availment of the program, and of course upon full payment of the basic taxes due. For late payers, this is a relief because penalties and surcharges can be hefty when they accrue, and this point becomes a favorite haggling point for some unscrupulous BIR agents when they go after delinquent tax payers. Remember that penalties go from 25 percent to 50 percent of the total unpaid taxes, and these figures have been legitimized by virtue of BIR rulings. The National Internal Revenue Code can make for interesting reading for all tax payers. Companies finding themselves with a hefty sum to pay come BIR reckoning time will find it so. The Commissioner of the Internal Revenue has enviable powers that can spell relief or doom for any taxpayer, individual or corporate, and can pronounce taxes as excessive or unjust and, I imagine, unfairly lowered.

Having to contend with penalties and charges provides a window for corruption where the agent has a wide leeway for negotiations without even touching the basic tax. With the abatement program, one does away with at least this problem as this part of the liability is entirely erased. For those who want to avail of this, it is important that the taxpayer receives a termination letter clearly specifying this. This is important as, at a later date, some unscrupulous agent may come swooping down on you bearing old files and demanding settlement for "unpaid penalties and surcharges."

The new deadline for this amnesty program is June 29, 2007, so there is still plenty of time to study your options.

It is the other variant of the agency’s latest "amnesty program" that needs more enlightening-the Voluntary Assessment Program. Unlike the first variant, this program encourages taxpayers to voluntarily pay their correct taxes. As a safety net, the BIR pegs these so-called correct taxes at 30 percent more than last year’s taxes. According to tax experts, this pertains to VAT and three percent of gross sales/gross receipts. If the BIR deems your payments to be correct, then your name is placed in the bottom of the BIR’s hit list. Not accurately named as an amnesty program, a taxpayer’s availment of this option will not give him any immunity from further examination of his books of accounts at any later date. Finding your name at the bottom of this infamous list will only buy you time, not necessarily peace of mind.

As the tax consultants say, this is already a step towards peace of mind. Apparently, the Voluntary Assessment Program disqualifies all other agents from opening your books of accounts after you have availed yourself of this program. They said that only the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue can order you to re-open your books after enrollment in the program — other lesser mortals do not have the authority to do so. So that’s what finding your name in the bottom of the list means! If all that this infers is true, the Commissioner cannot and will not have the time to go after small game like you and me, but beware the big corporate tax payers — you are not yet off the hook.

And just how long, or short, is this so-called list? Is there no prescription period for this list? If you are at the bottom indeed, literally and figuratively, you can count on the fact that the agency goes down the list systematically and doggedly, and five, maybe ten years from now, it could be your turn on the list.

This program, incidentally, has been extended too to June 29, 2007. Again, plenty of time to study your options. Get a hold of the National Internal Revenue Code to better understand the agency’s numerous administrative and legislative pronouncements. If you can afford a tax consultant’s services, it may be worth considering, if you are a big enough fish.

Now, there is a more promising amnesty program in the form of House Bill No. 2933 which is still pending in the President’s desk. Thankfully, it has been passed by both Congress and Senate. The amnesty it offers not only gives relief to delinquent taxpayers from all the past penalties and surcharges, it also unqualifyingly declares that, should you avail of the program, the BIR cannot open your books of accounts for the period covered by the amnesty period at any time. Now that is a real amnesty program. More on this when the HB 2933 is finally passed.

Dr. Jim’s all getting geared up

To the e-mail senders who wrote in about their interest in Dr. Juan "Jim" Sanchez’s hair transplant and other specialized services (cosmetic and reconstructive surgery), please don’t be disheartened if Dr. Jim has not answered each and every one of these inquiries. He is in the thick of preparations for a new clinic, and one will soon open in the heart of the metropolis. I am not at liberty to disclose which area, but I think it will be up in a couple of months. It is only the physical arrangements that need refining — the technical aspects of the hair transplant center have been fine tuned after years of research and perfecting his patented technology. To the reader who just wrote in that his bride-to-be will not marry him until he grows a healthy pate, despair not. The clinic should be up before d-day.

Interesting viewing on B&L this Tuesday evening

We are starting the rounds of new dinning destinations as the show’s venues on Business & Leisure, the weekly TV magazine that centers on business and the good life (Tuesday evenings at 10 o’clock on Shop TV, Channel 13 on Sky & Home Cable and Channel 9 on Dream) .

Sunshine Girl Ida Hidalgo, our co-host for the evening takes you to Azul restaurant at the Mall of Asia as she presents the week’s "Lifestyle Chronicles" a news capsule of recent "good life" events in the metro and interesting features like SEC Chairperson Madame Fe Barin taking the spotlight on the segment "Women Power" and more friendly creatures on our "Pets & Friends" portion.

For business we’ll have the Deputy Administrator of the Philippine Coconut Authority, Mr. Carlos Carpio to give some insights into the "sunrise industry" of Virgin Coconut Oil while the president of Goodyear Philippines, Mr. David Joseph Morin takes centerstage on our segment "Profiles".

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

For comments: (e-mail) businessleisure-star@stv.com.ph