The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s “SanTAX Claus” and “IBOTO MO,” two revenue generating projects, one for the Christmas season and for the coming elections, are now in place, a government press release said.

Launched in time for the brisk economic activities during the Christmas season which will last until January 15, 2010, the BIR SanTAX Claus  will monitor the operations of bazaar/tiangge/event organizers and on “Privilege Stores”/vendors during the Christmas season and provide them tax assistance, where needed,  to help them become tax compliant.

Information dissemination campaigns will also be conducted to encourage the public to demand habitually, invoices or receipts for goods or services bought.  The objective is to improve taxpayer awareness, enhance voluntary compliance and expand the BIR’s registration databank by identifying non-registered taxpayers.

BIR SanTAX Claus teams will be fielded out to conduct Tax Compliance Verification and Information drives in these sites to look for violations, like a firm’s failure to register with the BIR under Section 236 of the Tax Code but has started business transactions and failure to issue duly registered receipts or invoices.

Registered with BIR but without required receipts or invoices, and non-issuance of receipts/invoices.

Where organizers and/ or vendors are found to have committed violations, they will be allowed to operate provisionally provided they register on-the-spot and pay the annual registration fee of P500, be handed the pre-generated TIN.

The firms will also be provided with bureau printed receipt as temporary receipts/invoice, if without BIR-registered invoices/receipts.

This will be done without prejudice to the right of the BIR to institute appropriate civil/criminal actions, including closure proceedings as may be necessary under the particular circumstances.

The other BIR project, “IBOTO MO” under BIR regulations, now subjects local and national candidates, their political parties and their campaign contributors, whether individual or juridical, to five percent creditable withholding tax on their income payments on all their campaign expenditures and contributions.

The five percent is actually a tax on the income of the suppliers of goods and services on campaign expenditures and is collected through the withholding tax system.

Under this system, the candidates, political parties and contributors when making the payments for the supply of the goods and services are required to deduct a certain amount of the agreed transaction price and remit the same to the BIR, the press release said.

Project “IBOTO MO” is in anticipation of the substantial campaign expenditures this coming 2010 elections, and in recognition of the candidates’ civic duty to assist in national building by their compliance with their tax obligations.

Taxpayers may contact the BIR Regional Office at Tel. No. 4347848 and the Revenue District Offices with their telephone numbers as follows: RDO No. 76, Victorias City (399-2733), RDO No. 77, Bacolod City (433-2725), RDO No. 78, Binalbagan (388-8441) and RDO 79, Dumaguete City (035- 422-4246), the press release added.*

back to top