The names of more than 60,000 small enterprises, most of them operating online, have been registered by the Department of Trade and Industry in the past four months, signaling the resurgence of interest among online entrepreneurs to join the formal economy.
However, these entrepreneurs would still need to secure a business permit from the local government in order to operate, according to Trade and Industry Secretary Manolo Lopez.
Lopez said that unregisterd businesses eventually have to formalize as they grow because “they will have to borrow from formal lending institutions like banks and their audited financial statements will be required.”
The Department of Finance, through the Bureau of Internal Revenue, wants online sellers to register so they could pay the right taxes.
It is understood that businesses earning P 250 thusand or less a year will not be taxed, under current rules.
Moreover, sellers who do business only from time to time or mainly as a hobby during the pandemic are not yet considered to be in business and are not required to register.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate among Filipinos remains to be high. A National Telephone Survey conducted recently by the Social Weather Station (SWS) revealed that 39.5 per cent of the adult population are jobless, half of which lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Photo credits: business diary Philippines