Extension of Tax Amnesty Act sought

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, author of the Tax Amnesty Act of 2007, wants the law extended until May to benefit more taxpayers.

The lawmaker has asked Finance Secretary Margarito Teves to extend the law administratively without having to go through Congress.

Suarez said that it took some time for the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to issue the implementing guidelines and revenue regulations for the law but a ranking BIR official yesterday said that there was no need to extend the law anymore.

The official said taxpayers have already been given enough time and that the agency has already issued several reminders on the matter.

Suarez acknowledged that the government was unable to meet its revenue goal of P3.5 billion, raising only close to P2 billion.

The Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines and the Trust Officers Association of the Philippines also favor an extension.

The program, which the BIR started implementing in September last year, lapsed last March 6. The law immunes a qualified taxpayer from any law suits involving deficient tax payments covering the period 2005 and prior years if he pays the tax amnesty fee.

Teves said the Finance Chief said an extension would only be possible if Congress allows it by passing a legislation that would extend the program.

The law covers all national internal revenue taxes like income tax, estate tax, donor’s tax and capital gains tax (CGT), value-added tax, percentage tax, excise tax and documentary stamp taxes.

Those that are not covered are withholding taxes, taxes passed-on and those that are already collected from the customers for remittance to the BIR.

Cases which have been covered by the compromise program or abatement program of the BIR can no longer avail of the tax amnesty program insofar as the tax subject of the compromise or abatement is concerned.

The period covered is taxable year 2005 and prior years for the said taxes, with or without assessments duly issued and that have remained unpaid as of Dec. 31, 2005.

Under the law, delinquent taxpayers just have to pay a tax amnesty rate of five percent of a taxpayer’s net worth or a fee ranging from P25,000 to P500,000 depending on the net worth.