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A tax amnesty is an opportunity to start over with a clean slate. Taxpayers with ongoing audits would consider this an opportunity to settle deficiency taxes more efficiently. An audit, even for taxpayers who are compliant, is costly and stressful. To quantify the degree of relief on offer, some tax accountants and managers have computed the savings that can be realized and even prepared position papers to argue the benefits of availing of a tax amnesty, noting that they outweigh the costs.

IN IMPLEMENTING the changes to income taxation for individuals under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Memorandum Circular 17-2019, requiring individual taxpayers to use the latest version of BIR Form 1701A, or the annual income tax return for individuals earning purely from business or profession, in filing their annual income tax return and paying their income tax dues for calendar year 2018 on or before April 15, 2019.

First of 2 parts Everything was still at the newly renovated penthouse office of Prix Healthcare Inc. The 25 workstations clustered in the center of the entire floor for everyone at the office was left empty. Several desk drawers and file cabinets sat half-open. Rows of lifeless black monitors jutted out from low glass panels meant as desk dividers to make the space look big. A handful of laptop displays went on screensaver mode showing the Prix logo. This time, the corporate video was not playing on the 98-inch curved 8k TV at the lobby. An uninterrupted beeping sound from a headset left unhooked from its cradle filled the room.

The comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP) was envisioned to redesign the Philippine tax system to be simpler, fairer and more efficient. Aligned with the said objectives, the first package of the CTRP or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law brought many changes on the overall tax compliance procedures. Some of these changes are the streamlined filing of tax returns, adjustments to tax payment deadlines, and revision of tax rates, the implementation of which requires the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to update its system and issue revised tax returns.

Picture for a moment a Philippines without SM, Metrobank, the Aboitiz Group, and DMCI. Creating such a picture will probably take a lot more time and effort, because it is simply unimaginable to think of a Philippines without these powerful brands. You might even be thinking how crazy I am to conceive such an absurd idea. This thought springs from the passing of the people behind these brands in recent years.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) recently issued Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 06-2019 to provide guidelines, policies, and procedures for renewing the accreditation of printers of principal/ supplementary receipts/invoices.

In two days’ time, we are about to end the first month of the year. Time really flies so fast, especially when we are too preoccupied with loads of tasks that need to be done. It may be a bit too late now for some, but making a last minute run-down of our tax compliance to-do-list for January should not be given any less attention, even at this point in time. So waste not a single second, go grab that journal and desk calendar, and let us start ticking off the remaining items on your list.

A few days back, while I was having lunch with my four-year old daughter, I asked her if she wants to study at the University of the Philippines, where her mother and I studied. Instead of answering my question, she told me that, when she grows up, she wants to work at her mom’s office. “Not in my office?”, I queried her, not because I wanted her to follow in my footsteps, but because I was curious about how she would reason out. She resoundingly shook her head, while telling me that I have too many “homework,” which I suppose she is not a fan of. “What about mom’s work?”, I continued to ask her. She replied that her mom doesn’t have homework, and “all she does are attend meetings (telephone conferences) and text her officemates.”