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It is said that taxation should not restrict trade. For when it does, the flow of a progressive economy is likewise hampered. Importers have a reason to smile this time because last Aug. 31, 2016, the Commissioner of Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 56-2016. This amends the guidelines for securing importers clearance certificate (BIR-ICC) and customs brokers clearance certificate (BIR-BCC).

Our era is characterized by ever-changing technological advancement. Technology has touched our human existence including the way we educate ourselves, the way we deal and communicate, and the way we travel from one place to another. It has affected our interactions with one another such as shopping and socializing. From a business perspective, technology continues to play a vital role on how entities conduct their operation and maintain their competitive advantage.

This should be a good year for Goodyear Philippines as it has finally secured the confirmation of the Supreme Court (SC) on its 6-year-old refund case involving erroneously remitted tax on dividends amounting to about P14 million. The SC ruled that gains from the redemption of preferred shares are exempt from Philippine income tax if the provisions of the tax treaty between the Philippines and the US are complied with. The tax treaty with the US provides that gains derived by a US resident from the sale of shares in a Philippine company shall only be taxable in the US if the Philippine company’s assets do not consist principally of real property. The gains should not be treated as dividends.

Finally, after much debate and months of delay, the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 10708, otherwise known as the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA), have been finalized and jointly issued by the Department of Finance (DoF) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through Joint Administrative Order No. 1-2016. TIMTA aims to monitor and evaluate the fiscal incentives granted by investment promotion agencies (IPAs), such as the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Board of Investments (BoI) and others.

We have come to a time when we are no longer afraid of change. We welcome change, believing that such will be a catalyst for improvement. We are all very excited by blow-by-blow developments. We have seen it slowly happening within the ranks of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) vis-à-vis the proposed amendments of the Tax Code.

With appointment of the new Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner, Atty. Cesar R. Dulay, everyone is expecting significant changes to happen in the BIR. Atty. Dulay is joining an organization cited by President Duterte as one of the most corrupt government agencies. Certainly, changing such an organization will be one gargantuan task. Stakeholders like the local and foreign business organizations, tax practitioners, individual taxpayers, and foreign investors are eagerly observing the changes that are being introduced. It is worthwhile to examine the BIR issuances released by the new Commissioner for the first two weeks after he assumed his post last July 1. These issuances give the stakeholders and observers a clear insight of the changes what we will expect and the priorities of this new administration

When the new Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner, lawyer Cesar Dulay, formally assumed office on July 1, it appeared to many that he intended to make an impression. Wasting no time, the Commissioner took many by surprise with three new issuances.

The Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) was developed to provide taxpayers with “top quality and convenient service through a much faster processing and immediate confirmation of filing of tax returns and payment of taxes due thereon.” The system allows the taxpayers to directly encode, submit their tax returns and pay their taxes online. Considering the convenience made by the eFPS, filing and payment can be done anytime and anywhere where Internet is accessible. In spite of such accessibility, taxpayers fall prey to the trifles of the due dates for filing and payment in case these falls on a holiday or on a weekend.