Banks prohibited from identifying amnesty taxpayers

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has strictly prohibited its agent banks from revealing the identities of taxpayers who would be filing for amnesty.

In a letter to the BIR’s authorized agent banks, BIR commissioner Lilian Hefti stressed the identities of those would be filing for tax amnesty may not be made public.

“Unlawful divulgence of the Tax Amnesty Returns or the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) shall be penalized in accordance with existing rules and regulations,” Hefti warned.

The BIR started implementing the Tax Amnesty Law of 2007 in September last year.

The law immunes a qualified taxpayer from any lawsuit involving deficient tax payments covering the period 2005 and prior years if he or she pays the tax amnesty fee.

Under the law, delinquent taxpayers have six months or until March this year to avail of the tax amnesty from the BIR. 

The tax amnesty rate is five percent of a taxpayer’s net worth or a fee ranging from P25,000 to P500,000 depending on the net worth.

In her letter, Hefti also directed all authorized agent banks to accept tax amnesty payments from taxpayers regardless of the revenue district office (RDO) assignment.

Applicants availing of tax amnesty are required to submit their payment form, tax amnesty return, notice of availment and SALN.

“After encoding the payment details, all the documents shall be placed in an envelope to be provided by the taxpayer, sealed properly and submitted to the revenue district office within five days after receipt and that all agent banks shall hold the application with the strictest confidentiality,” Hefti said.

The BIR, the government’s main revenue earner is under heavy pressure to raise revenues to help boost state coffers.

This year, the agency is tasked to collect P845 billion but expects to raise only P782 billion or P63 billion below the goal.