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In August 2015, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) together with the Financial Executives Institute of Cebu, Inc. (FINEX Cebu), the Confederation of Philippine Exporters Foundation (Cebu), Inc. (PHILEXPORT Cebu), and the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants -- Cebu Chapter (PICPA -- Cebu) submitted a position paper to the Department of Finance (DoF) requesting amendments to the Bureau of Internal Revenue Importer Clearance Certificate (BIR-ICC) and BIR Customs Broker Clearance Certificate (BIR-BCC) requirements in relation to the accreditation of the importer and customs broker, respectively. To date, the petitioners have not received feedback from the DoF. Hence, I reprint below the significant parts of the position paper.

Tax rules seem to be constantly changing. Unless the taxpayer regularly looks up the latest issuances from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and court decisions, or has a battery of tax advisors to do these for him, or attends periodic tax seminars, keeping track of developments in the rules can be difficult.

Does your company have an on-going tax assessment covering tax year 2012? If yes, then it is likely that you have already been asked to execute a waiver on the statute of limitations.

Now that the gifts have been unwrapped and the countless Christmas parties are done, we now look to the preparations for the new year. Some of us are probably still enjoying the much needed vacation while some of us are back at the office looking forward to the next set of holidays which start tomorrow. Soon after, we will bid adieu to 2015 and welcome the new year -- what better time to look back at the events that shaped our lives in the past year?

The European Commission unveil plans to combat corporate tax avoidance and tackle businesses exploiting the complexity of tax rules.

Grant Thornton article discussing the impact of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on non-US companies.