Tax on self-employed seen to rise

The Bureau of Internal Revenue has increased its collection target for taxes on self-employed individuals for next year amid improved compliance so far this year.

For next year, the bureau is eyeing to raise P222.28 billion from professionals, 15 percent higher than this year’s projected collection of P192.72 billion.

Individual income taxes account for over a fifth of the BIR’s collection, with the bulk coming from salaried individuals whose income taxes are automatically withheld by their employers.

Deputy Commissioner Estela Sales said the agency is hopeful its Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) Program will drive people to be vigilant and report those who do not pay the right taxes.

Sales said the RATE scored significant gains this year, especially on high profile cases.

“We’re proud of our accomplishments. In the past, the agency’s batting average at the Department of Justice was dismal if you look at the number of cases that actually make it to the courts. Now, the increase in the number of cases that reach the Court of Tax Appeals is much higher,” Sales said.

Since the Aquino administration took office, the bureau has filed 83 tax cases worth P35.76 billion. Of the total number, 19 have already been resolved by the DOJ, with 87 percent of said resolutions decided in favor of the BIR.

The Professional Regulation Commission lists some 3 million registered professionals in the country. Around 190,000 are doctors and lawyers; a class of taxpayers that earns much more than compensation income earners.

The average annual income tax payments of professionals, however, average less than the monthly minimum wage of P8,500. The BIR filed 59 tax cases at the DOJ this year that could raise P22.6 billion. –Katrina Mennen A. Valdez Reporter, Manila Times