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If you were to gather the world’s most imaginative storytellers and its most pedantic planners in one room and ask them to come up with a vision of the future, how accurate would that future be?

Have you been audited by the BIR and your claimed expense was disallowed for improper or inadequate substantiation? Have you applied for a tax refund, and were denied due to an erroneous invoice or receipt? This is not unusual given the state of our tax documentation and compliance. With the advent of the government requirement to use electronic receipts and invoices, we can only hope that these long-running challenges become a thing of the past.

The Filipino culture has never failed to mesmerize. There is no one word to describe it, as it is rightfully referred to as a cultural potpourri of sorts. It brings to the table something new and something old in terms of tradition, married by the Philippines’ rich history covering periods of colonization and subsequent independence sought by the country’s brave heroes and martyrs.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) released Advisory No. 2022-0010 last May 11, 2022 to inform the public of the adjusted premium rate for PhilHealth members for CY 2022. Based on Republic Act No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act, the premium rates should increase by 0.5 percent annually which started last 2019.

On May 10, 2022, the SC released its decision promulgated on 01 December 2021 on the petition for certiorari of the Department of Finance (DOF) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) seeking for annulment of an order of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 57 in Makati City that declared Revenue Regulations No. 4-2011 null and void.

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue has issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 46-2022, clarifying that the deadline of submission of attachments to the 2021 Annual Income Tax Return (AITR) shall be on or before May 31, 2022, in relation to the provisions stated in RMCs 42-2022 and 44-2022.

A considerable number of newsworthy climate stories came out in the last two months. This year's Earth Hour and Earth Day celebrations are still fresh in mind, especially as the latter urged society to "invest in our planet" and act now. April notably saw a worldwide scientist-led protest following the release of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. More recently, the BBC reported on "phantom forests" resulting from organizations that overpromised and failed to implement reforestation programs.

In previous years, we have seen an evolution of the Philippine tax landscape under different administrations. The National internal Revenue Code or the Tax Reform Act of 1997 superseded the 1977 Tax Code. Electronic filings have also been introduced, including the Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS), eBIRForms System, and electronic certificate authorizing registration (eCAR), among others. We currently have this thrust on streamlining the processes and requirements of the BIR’s registration processes and other taxpayer transactions with the BIR. There are also significant tax reform laws which have been passed -- the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, among others.