The House of Representatives approved on September 6 the proposed Ease of Paying Taxes Act (House Bill 8942).
The bill aims to ease the process of tax filing to encourage payment of taxes by both individual and business taxpayers. It also seeks to abolish the annual taxpayer registration fee, create registration facilities for non-resident taxpayers, formulate a “Taxpayers Bill of Rights, and establish a Taxpayer’s Advocate office under the Department of Finance.
If signed, the bill is expected to generate an additional P 73 billion in government revenues for the first five years of implementation.,
A taxpayer’s advocate office provides assistance to tax payers who are experiencing significant economic difficulty and encountering tax-related problems that could not be resolved through normal channels. It also serves as a taxpayer’s recourse for tax-related issues with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Albay Representative Joey Salceda said that the measure would help consolidate the country’s fiscal situation and improve its recovery trajectory after the pandemic.