Be updated on our latest insights

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.

Amid new government issuances and pandemic constraints, flexible work arrangements, especially remote work or “work-from-home” (WFH) setups as we call them, continue to be implemented by businesses. Government orders allowing only essential businesses to keep their physical locations open forced unprepared employers to adopt flexible work options on the fly.

The IATF adjusted the COVID-19 alert levels of certain areas such as that of the National Capital Region, where the alert level is now at 3. Through a resolution, the authorities relaxed quarantine restrictions over the coming days to provide more mobility to people in certain trades. According to the 2021 Asian Development Outlook update, the Philippine economy is recovering and rebounding at a growth rate of 11.8% from the second quarter due to the government’s expansionary fiscal policy, which it resorted to in order to fund the pandemic response, vaccination, and infrastructure projects. From these economic indicators, businesses and investors may expect that the Philippines to get back on track soon.

The pandemic supercharged the growth of the digital economy; the implementation of community quarantines forced us to stay at home and encouraged the use of online platforms to obtain our basic needs. Many continue to heavily rely on the internet and digital services for education, work, and entertainment. There’s no denying that online transactions quickly became part of our new normal. And while these offer advantages to us as consumers, it allows foreign online retailers to penetrate the Philippine market without having to invest or employ Filipinos. Thus, to ensure fair competition between traditional and digital businesses, and further generate funding for the pandemic recover effort, legislators were swift to propose a tax on these digital businesses.

In recent years, Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGOs have become a household name mainly due to the noticeable rise of Chinese establishments and influx of Chinese workers. According to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), POGOs have been discovered to be operating here as early as 2003, but it was not until 2016 when the PAGCOR clearly defined the concepts, components, operations, and regulation, among others, of offshore gaming. A POGO is defined as an entity that offers and participates in offshore gaming services by providing games to players, taking bets, and paying the winners. The gaming activities refer to online games of chance, using a network and software, exclusively for offshore-authorized players who have registered and established an online gaming account with PAGCOR-licensed POGOs. Gambling activities are considered illegal in mainland China and thus, Chinese nationals resort to playing online casino and other virtual betting games operated by the aforementioned POGOs. This is a major contributing factor to the boom in the gambling industry in the Philippines.

Last month, there was a long, funny Twitter thread that reimagined “The Office” in the COVID-19 era. There can be no doubt about it — the pandemic has ushered in a new reality of work. For one, reconfigurations in the office have become so common as to become the norm.

Having connections with a wide array of business partners can go a long way to help your business survive, expand, or even thrive. With work-from-home setups in place, the use of technology is bringing global businesses or entities together in a smaller circle. One way or another, you may find your company associating with a non-resident foreign corporation (NRFC).

The digital economy continues to shape up as a significant aspect of commerce. The effects of the pandemic accelerated the paradigm shift towards digitalization and greatly altered the patterns of production and consumption of goods and services. Recently, a product of the digital age has been drawing a lot of interest — cryptocurrency. Once known only to tech-savvy people, cryptocurrencies are gaining traction and becoming more mainstream because of their perceived advantages and the income-earning opportunities they present.