The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) is taking in stride the call of President Benigno Aquino III during their 29th Biennial Convention to fulfill its civic duty by paying taxes correctly, noting that it was received as a simple reminder from the government.
On March 22, President Aquino said he was shocked to learn about the tax-paying record of the Filipino-Chinese business community.
Aquino added the business community has until April 15 to settle and file their taxes. After that they will have “to deal with Commissioner Kim Henares herself and with Secretary Leila de Lima.”
“We consider this as a reminder,” Dr. Fernando Gan, FFCCCII secretary general, told GMA News Online, adding that the federation members “will meet the deadline” and that the members “have been consistently paying taxes.”
The President noted a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) report, cross-referenced against the 2011-2013 directory of the federation, showed only 105 of 207 FFCCCII members have Tax Identification Numbers (TIN).
“Of these 105 firms, only 54 filed tax returns. To make matters worse, 38 firms and organizations actually filed returns with zero tax due. This means that only 16 out of the 207—or only around eight percent—of your member-organizations paid taxes,” Aquino said.
“We always remind them to pay taxes correctly and on time,” said Gan, who also claimed that the federation “regularly conduct seminars on tax for our members and join kick-off campaigns of government.
“The government is right to call our attention to pay taxes. It is our obligation as citizens,” he added.
While the FFCCCII also has 552 individual members, only 424 of the total have TINs, according to the President.
Reminder to fullfil civic duty
“It is interesting to note that of that number 185, or almost 44 percent, filed income tax returns. Of those that filed tax returns, at least only 14 filed returns with zero tax due. What this means is 354 out of 552 members—or 64 percent of you—did not pay taxes for the same reasons: no TIN, no tax due, or nothing filed at all,” the President said.
Gan noted the federation is reaching out to its members to fulfill their civic duty, saying a memo on this was released to all members.
BIR Deputy Commissioner for Legal and Inspection Group Estela V. Sales told GMA News Online the data given to the President covered the record of the federation’s tax activities with the bureau.
“What was provided [to the President] was only data from BIR so they can check against their records. Wala naman kaming i-ni-imply. It's up to them to come forward to explain if they're taxable entities. This is just a notice so that in time for April 15, makita ang compliance nila,” she said.
“Kung senior citizen na may pinagkakakitaan, kelangan mag-declare ng income tax return. Kung non-profit organization naman, kelangan pa ring mag-report sa BIR for recording,” Sales added.
The BIR is auditing taxpayers and investigating those found not complying, especially self-employed professionals who file and pay taxes on their own.
“Come April 15, our operations will be intensified. If found guilty, we will criminal cases against those erring taxpayers,” Sales said.
In the same event, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. urged the community to strengthen its partnership with the government this year to sustain the growth momentum by participating in the public-private partnership program, investing in the export sector, developing a strong industrial base and investing in human capital.
“Nothing in the first quarter gives us reason to take pause. Instead, the outlook continues to be encouraging,” he said.
In 2012, the economy performed better than expected despite the risks happening from a volatile global economic environment.
“With the continued resilience demonstrated in recent years, some are even beginning to consider the Philippines as an emerging tiger economy in Asia—a decisive transformation from being once tagged as ‘The sick man of Asia’,” Tetangco said. — VS/HS, GMA News
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