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Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus and is observed every Dec. 25. A few days more, and we will be officially celebrating the holiday most associated with giving. And despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it looks like the long-awaited recovery is taking hold.

Almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses worldwide are still slowly trying to recover from the effects of the economic downturn. Business establishments, both in the goods as well as the services industries, have been hit with massive losses and considerable expenses as a result of non-operation during the lockdowns.

As we near the end of the calendar year, many companies will be busy preparing for their year-end inventory tally. In certain industries, such assets make up a significant portion of a company’s balance sheet. Needless to say, it is important for taxpayers to know or review the tax rules and compliance requirements relevant to their inventories. Some of these rules and requirements are described below.

We’re nearly two years into the pandemic and another year is coming to an end. While businesses are expecting significant improvements in the results of their operations this year, they should also be mindful of various compliance requirements.

Christmas is fast approaching and the whole world is slowly emerging from the ravages of the pandemic. While most people are getting busy preparing their gifts and menus for Noche Buena, taxpayers are reminded of year-end tax compliance and other reporting requirements. To name a few: taxpayers need to comply with filing and submission of annual information returns and their attachments, books of account, and withholding tax certificates, as well as the filing of Requests for Confirmation (RFC) for income payments to nonresidents which were subjected to tax treaty rates or preferential rates.

A rise in election campaign spending is anticipated, albeit in more creative ways as we are still coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), some P5.8 billion was spent during the 2016 polls, with major spending on ad placement in various media platforms — and that is assuming that there were no misstatements in the Statement of Contributions and Expenses submitted by the political candidates to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

During a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) tax audit, taxpayers avoid, as much as possible, receiving a Final Assessment Notice (FAN) or think of elevating their concerns to the Court of Tax Appeals. These late stages of the tax assessment process mean incurring significant costs and expending effort to challenge the assessment or defend taxpayers’ arguments, with little to no assurance of a reduction or cancellation of the assessment.

With the government hard-pressed for funds to finance economic recovery programs, much of the burden falls on the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to increase tax collections. It is no wonder that BIR audits are proliferating like TikTok videos. For taxpayers, one of the most common fears is being subjected to a BIR audit. Such audits not only entail substantial investments in time and effort, mainly to prepare supporting documents and legal arguments; they also require strength of character and tremendous patience to see the process to its conclusion.